Protecting Mars special regions with potential for life to propagate: Difference between revisions

In principle native Martian life could have additional capabilities, and so, be able to propagate at lower temperatures or with lower water activity (one suggestion is a mixture of water and [[hydrogen peroxide]] as internal solvent in the cells<ref name=peroxide_life/>). However, since these capabilities are unknown, they are not used to determine special regions.

 

{{quote|Thus, during the planning phases, missions will study their own potential to create Spacecraft-Induced SpecialRegions by the presence of a lander itself or by non-nominaloperations during the descent phase and will take action toensure that Special Regions are not inadvertently created.Robotic spacecraft will need to avoid Special Regions if they are not clean enough to avoid contaminating those regions. Although current requirements are the same as those met by the Viking missions of the mid-1970s, no spacecraft sent to Mars since that time has been clean enough to enter a Special Region}}}}<ref name=MarsSpecialRegions2014/>.

 

The requirements also apply to regions that may be made into a special region by a spacecraft, for instance through impact melting ice, or sources of thermal energy foreign to Mars<ref name=MarsSpecialRegions2014/>. If a [[hard landing]] risks biological contamination of a special region, it has to be sterilized sufficiently to prevent this (COSPAR category IVc)<ref name=MarsSpecialRegions2014/>.

 

{{quote|Thus, during the planning phases, missions will study their own potential to create Spacecraft-Induced SpecialRegions by the presence of a lander itself or by non-nominaloperations during the descent phase and will take action toensure that Special Regions are not inadvertently created.Robotic spacecraft will need to avoid Special Regions if they are not clean enough to avoid contaminating those regions. Although current requirements are the same as those met by the Viking missions of the mid-1970s, no spacecraft sent to Mars since that time has been clean enough to enter a Special Region}}}}. The risk of spacecraft induced special regions needs to be evaluated separately for each mission, taking account of the spacecraft and the landing ellipse<ref name=MarsSpecialRegions2014/>.