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Policy & sustainability · Governance

Planetary Protection Policy

The international policy framework — coordinated by COSPAR — that keeps missions from contaminating other worlds with terrestrial microbes, and Earth from any hazard in returned samples. It turns the science of planetary protection into binding mission requirements.

Across space policy

Knowledge connections

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.