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The Quarantine and Certification of Martian Samples (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-5

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From page 1...
... Initial examination of the samples, including testing for potential biohazards, will be carried out in this facility, and the samples will be held there until conditions are met that permit release of aliquots1 of the samples to the laboratories of investigators elsewhere in the United States and abroad who are qualified to carry out specialized studies of them, and who have been formally approved to do so. COMPLEX has studied the time required to plan, build, and staff an adequate quarantine facility.
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From page 2...
... A program of research should be initiated to determine the effects on organic compounds in rocky matrices, and also on microscopic morphological evidence of life, of varying degrees of application of heat and gamma irradiation. This research should be started well in advance of the return of the Mars samples, so that treatment protocols can be designed intelligently and data obtained from analyses of treated samples can be interpreted with minimal ambiguity.
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From page 3...
... [Chapter 61 Several initiatives cited above should be begun prior to design of the quarantine facility and planning of quarantine protocols, i.e., immediately: research on the efficacy of supercritical fluids and commonly used organic solvents in killing organisms; on the effects of varying degrees of treatment by heat and by gamma irradiation on organic compounds; and on ways of combining biological containment with clean-room conditions. An oversight committee should be formed to monitor these activities (see below, "The Apollo Experienced.
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From page 4...
... In the likely event that initial examination of the Mars samples can neither prove nor definitively rule out evidence of life in them, plans should be in place to promptly sterilize aliquots of the samples and remove them from the Mars Quarantine Facility for biological and geochemical studies in specialized laboratories elsewhere. This action should not be deferred pending resolution of the question of whether the samples contain life or artifacts of life.
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From page 5...
... [Chapter 71 Recommendation. A continuing committee of senior biologists and geochemists that includes appropriate international representation should be formed and charged with reviewing every step of the planning, construction, and employment of the Mars Quarantine Facility.
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Key Terms

  • mars quarantine
  • martian samples
  • sample return
  • mars samples
  • biological containment

  • mars sample
  • preliminary examination
  • return program
  • organic matter
  • laboratories elsewhere

  • host institution
  • specialized laboratories
  • complex considers
  • combining biological
  • organic carbon

  • sterilized samples
  • international partners
  • supercritical fluids
  • containment facility
  • untreated aliquots

  • life detection
  • major international
  • ongoing containment
  • physical scientists
  • gamma radiation

  • biological studies
  • unless warranted
  • initial examination
  • major obstacle
  • appropriate international


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