Planetary protection policy overview and application to future missions

The current status of planetary protection (quarantine) policy within NASA is discussed, together with the issues of planetary protection and back-contamination as related to future missions. The policy adopted by COSPAR in 1984 (and recently reaffirmed by the NASA Administrator) for application to all unmanned missions to other solar system bodies and all manned and unmanned sample return missions is examined. Special attention is given to the implementation of the policy and to the specific quarantine-related constraints on spacecraft involved in solar system exploration that depend on the nature of the mission and the identity of the target body.