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The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection Interim Report (2017) / Chapter Skim
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5 Working Definition of Planetary Protection
Pages 11-11

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From page 11...
... and adopted by NASA: Planetary protection involves at least three fundamental activities -- policy formulation, policy implementation, and compliance and validation. It encompasses those goals, rationales, policies, processes, and substantive requirements that are intended to ensure that any interplanetary space mission does not compromise the target body for a current or future scientific investigation and does not pose an unacceptable risk to Earth (in the case, for example, of sample return missions)
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Key Terms

  • protection involves
  • cospar panel
  • engineering practice
  • biological containment
  • future scientific

  • mission success
  • scientific investigation
  • mission assurance
  • achieving mission
  • scientific mission

  • including engineering
  • establishing policy
  • space exploration
  • target body
  • particularly establishing

  • definition specifically
  • exploration mission
  • space mission
  • interplanetary space
  • future investigations

  • mission design
  • scientific objectives
  • definition reflects
  • unacceptable risk
  • biological safety

  • sample return
  • following additional
  • specifically investigations
  • risk assessment
  • investigations aimed


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