Planetary protection: keeping out ‘toxic aliens’

Planetary protection: keeping out ‘toxic aliens’

Sub: Sci

Sec: Space sector

Context:

• China announced its plan to launch Tianwen-3, its ambitious Mars sample-return mission, by 2028. The mission would abide by the planetary protection principle.

What is planetary protection?

• Planetary Protection is the practice of protecting solar system bodies from contamination by Earth life and protecting Earth from life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies.
• It’s an important principle of interplanetary missions.
• It stems from the idea that we ought to keep the planetary biosphere “pristine” and from being “corrupted” by influences that may not exist had the space mission not been undertaken.

Legal basis:

• The principle has a legal basis in Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty (1967).
• It states that parties to the treaty explore outer space while avoiding harmful contamination and adverse changes in the earths and the body’s environments due to “the introduction of extraterrestrial matter.”

How is it achieved?

• One method used to clean spacecraft ahead of interplanetary missions to conform to the planetary protection principle is to fully assemble the vehicle and bake it in a dry room for three days at 120⁰C.
• This process increases the costs and the technical strength of the spacecraft.