Assessment of the Report of NASA's Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (2020) / Chapter Skim
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In the last half-dozen years or so, concerns arose that new space developments were stressing existing planetary protection policies and the policy development process. Such developments included planning for challenging robotic missions to Mars and the outer solar system addressing important astrobiology goals, the plans and missions of new national and international space agencies, the increasing private-sector space activities, and planning for the resumption of human exploration activities on the Moon and, eventually, on Mars.
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leadership in the development of planetary protection science, approaches, technologies, and policy in keeping with the obligations contained in the Outer Space Treaty;3 • Planetary protection policies are equally applicable to both government and nongovernment missions;4 • Existence of lack of agreement about the implementation of planetary protection policies and associated requirements for private-sector space missions and, in particular, the need to identify, in domestic law, a federal agency to regulate nongovernmental entities on planetary protection;5 • The importance of international cooperation and recognition of COSPAR's historical role;6 2 Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB) , NASA Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB)
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. However, the following thematically related findings and recommendations relate to topics not discussed in NASEM, 2018: PPIRB, 2019 [69, 70, 72]
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;22 • The potential cost challenges for small,23 low-cost spacecraft (e.g., SmallSat and CubeSat) missions in implementing planetary protection measures;24 • NASA's potential role in providing planetary protection assistance to new, private-sector space activities;25 • Opportunities for future NASA contracts as a means of enforcing planetary protection policies;26 • Sanctions for private-sector actors that do not follow planetary protection policies;27 • What martian meteorites can potentially reveal about planetary protection policies designed to protect Earth from back contamination;28 • Impact of bioload-reduction sterilization techniques on science;29 and • Whether Mars is already contaminated by previous robotic missions and whether the impacts of future robotic and human missions are "likely to be minimal."30 AREAS OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE From its comparative review of the PPIRB and 2018 reports, and its examination of the topics considered only in the PPIRB report, the committee identified the following areas of strategic importance in the development of future planetary protection policy common to both reports:31 • Establishing a new advisory process; • Clarifying legal and regulatory issues; and • Building the scientific and technical foundations of planetary protection policies for human missions to Mars.
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Recommendation: The initial focus of the new advisory body should be on the needs of upcoming private-sector and government missions. Clarifying Legal and Regulatory Issues Concerning Planetary Protection The persistence of disagreements about how the United States fulfills its obligations under the Outer Space Treaty in connection with private-sector space activities with planetary protection implications creates uncertainty for the private sector and potentially harms the objective of the U.S.
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; • Establishment of an adequately funded program of research and development to answer questions and address challenges raised by the most promising concepts for integrating planetary protection measures in human missions; and • A plan to develop planetary protection policy for human missions to Mars on a timeline that permits the integration of such research and development into mission planning and implementation at the earliest possible stages. The committee has chosen to emphasize the need for a strategy for humans to Mars because of the magnitude of the task and because this topic is emphasized in both the PPIRB and 2018 reports.
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The committee agrees with the PPIRB's emphasis on this issue and notes that small, low-cost spacecraft present an ideal environment for experimentation and innovation in the implementation of specific planetary protection policies.39 Recommendation: NASA should undertake the following actions: • Develop a broad-based, representative advisory process to inform the development of planetary protection policy for small, low-cost spacecraft; • Identify, fund, and complete research and development priorities related to small, low-cost spacecraft missions (e.g., on analyzing base costs for planetary protection compliance and on crafting a standard planetary protection template) ; • Clarify the legal and regulatory environment for small, low-cost spacecraft used in missions that are not subject to agreements or contracts with NASA; and • Record, analyze, and communicate the lessons learned from specific small, low-cost spacecraft efforts in order to inform the development and implementation of the new approach to planetary protection policy as recommended in NASA's 2019 Planetary Protection Independent Review Board report and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's 2018 report Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes.
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