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Loading contentThe risk of carrying Earth microbes to another world on a spacecraft, which could harm any native biosphere or, worse, be mistaken for alien life. Missions to Mars and the ocean worlds are cleaned and sterilised to strict standards to prevent it.
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.