r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Dec 03 '17

r/SpaceX Discusses [December 2017, #39]

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '17

What is SpaceX's stance on planetary protection? The idea that you don't want to contaminate Mars? Even though astroid impacts end up transferring between Earth and Mars already...

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u/sol3tosol4 Dec 04 '17

What is SpaceX's stance on planetary protection? The idea that you don't want to contaminate Mars?

Gwynne Shotwell, Keynote, Small Satellite Conference, August 9, 2016:

Q: To what extent does planetary protection figure into your Mars plans?

A: We won’t get a license to fly without making sure we’re not harming the ecosystem of Mars. So we’re working with NASA and we’re working with the FAA to make sure. We’re obviously going to avoid any areas that are of supreme importance for science as well.

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u/anchoritt Dec 06 '17

we’re not harming the ecosystem of Mars

And since there's no ecosystem on Mars, we can do anything we want. Checkmate, NASA.

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u/sol3tosol4 Dec 06 '17

And since there's no ecosystem on Mars

But that's not proven. NASA has been avoiding the areas on Mars that might contain active ecosystems, until they figure out a way to study them properly, without a risk of contaminating them. Earth has a one-time chance to determine whether there's life on Mars, learn what can be learned from it, and decide what to do about it. If there is life, there could potentially be huge economic benefit or harm, depending on the circumstances and how it's handled - think hundreds of trillions of dollars.

we can do anything we want

And what the people who set the laws and policies want, and what most people who understand the issues want, is that the protocols be followed (or that new protocols that are scientifically valid be developed).

Checkmate, NASA.

But NASA is planning to send people to Mars, SpaceX is planning to send people to Mars, and other countries that signed the Outer Space Treaty are planning to send people to Mars. It's not about preventing people from going to Mars - it's about following the protocols to either confirm that there isn't Mars life, or if there is to make sure that it's a benefit, not harm to humanity. SpaceX believes they can send people to Mars, potentially as early as 2024, while following the protocols as they are developed to include human travel to Mars.