Planetary protection · Planetary Protection
Forward Contamination
The 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.
Highlights
- ›Keeping Earth life from contaminating other worlds
Worlds, missions & methods
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupPlanetary Protection
- Associated withMars
- Associated withEuropa
- Associated withPlanetary Protection Policy
- Associated withPlanetary Protection for Crewed Missions
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
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.