International Committee Against Mars Sample Return: Difference between revisions

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The "International Committee Against Mars Sample Return",<ref name=ICASMR>[http://www.icamsr.org/ ICAMSR - RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS ABOUT PLANETARY PROTECTION SINCE 2000]</ref> or ICAMSR, is ana small advocacy group of scientists who campaign to raise awareness of planetary protection issues involved in a [[Mars sample return]]. They have been quoted in news stories about plans for Mars Sample Return.<ref>Richard Stenger [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/11/07/mars.sample/l Mars sample return plan carries microbial risk, group warns] CNN</ref><ref>Barry E. DiGregorio [http://www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-99m.html Can Martian Microbes Endanger The Earth?]</ref><ref>Jacques Arnould [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lLbfQfW4zzkC&pg=PA174&lpg=PA174&dq=%22International+Committee+Against+Mars+Sample+Return%22&source=bl&ots=M3Egf5HI07&sig=LifCu7kUprMts9qUhrNRAaCPW_c&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yr2dUZ-eBcidO_DygMAI&ved=0CHUQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=%22International%20Committee%20Against%20Mars%20Sample%20Return%22&f=false Icarus' Second Chance: The Basis and Perspectives of Space Ethics ]</ref><ref>Barry E. DiGregorio [http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/380/65/ Another Threat to Earth: "Mars Sample Return"]</ref>{{full|date=May 2013}}
 
On their main page they say:
 
{{Quote|Committee Against Mars Sample Return (ICAMSR) urges the scientific and environmental communities to consider avoiding the return of Martian samples directly to Earth as problems with electronic circuitry malfunctions are common as well as accidental impacts. The study of Martian soil and rocks for signs of life can be accomplished with in-situ life detection instruments on Mars, something NASA has not done since the twin Viking mission in 1976. The question must be asked: Do the benefits of studying Martian samples in laboratories on Earth outweigh the risk of contaminating our world? We only have one Earth.}}
 
The director of ICAMSR is Barry DiGregorio, author of the book "Mars: The Living Planet",<ref>Barry DiGregorio [http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mars.html?id=2zKEQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y Mars: The Living Planet] North Atlantic Books, 29 Sep 1997 ISBN 1883319587</ref> a 1997 re-examination of the Viking biology results. Notable advisors include [[Gilbert Levin]] who was responsible for the [[Viking spacecraft biological experiments]], and [[Chandra Wickramasinghe]].<ref>[http://www.icamsr.org/advisors.html ICAMSR Advisors]</ref>