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Report of the Workshop for Life Detection in Samples from MarsThe question of whether there is or was life on Mars has been one of the most pivotal since Schiaparellis' telescopic observations of the red planet. With the advent of the space age, this question can be addressed directly by exploring the surface of Mars and by bringing samples to Earth for analysis. The latter, however, is not free of problems. Life can be found virtually everywhere on Earth. Hence the potential for contaminating the Mars samples and compromising their scientific integrity is not negligible. Conversely, if life is present in samples from Mars, this may represent a potential source of extraterrestrial biological contamination for Earth. A range of measures and policies, collectively termed 'planetary protection', are employed to minimise risks and thereby prevent undesirable consequences for the terrestrial biosphere. This report documents discussions and conclusions from a workshop held in 2012, which followed a public conference focused on current capabilities for performing life-detection studies on Mars samples. The workshop focused on the evaluation of Mars samples that would maximise scientific productivity and inform decision making in the context of planetary protection. Workshop participants developed a strong consensus that the same measurements could be employed to effectively inform both science and planetary protection, when applied in the context of two competing hypotheses: 1) that there is no detectable life in the samples; or 2) that there is martian life in the samples. Participants then outlined a sequence for sample processing and defined analytical methods that would test these hypotheses. They also identified critical developments to enable the analysis of samples from Mars.
Document ID
20160013890
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kminek, Gerhard
(European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Conley, Catherine
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Allen, Carlton C.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Bartlett, Douglas H.
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography San Diego, CA, United States)
Beaty, David W.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Benning, Liane G.
(Leeds Univ. United Kingdom)
Bhartia, Rohit
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Boston, Penelope J.
(New Mexico Tech Albuquerque, NM, United States)
Duchaine, Caroline
(Laval Univ. Sainte-Foye, Quebec, Canada)
Farmer, Jack D.
(Arizona State Univ. Phoenix, AZ, United States)
Flynn, George J.
(Pittsburg State Univ. Pittsburg, KS, United States)
Glavin, Daniel P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Gorby, Yuri
(Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Troy, NY, United States)
Hallsworth, John E.
(Queens Univ. Belfast, United Kingdom)
Mogul, Rakesh
(California State Polytechnic Univ. Pomona, CA, United States)
Moser, Duane
(Desert Research Inst. Reno, NV, United States)
Price, P. Buford
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Pukall, Ruediger
(Leibniz-Institut DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH Brunswick, Germany)
Fernandez-Remolar, David
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
Smith, Caroline L.
(British Museum of Natural History London, United Kingdom)
Stedman, Ken
(Portland State Univ. OR, United States)
Steele, Andrew
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Stepanauskas, Ramunas
(Bigelow Lab. for Ocean Sciences West Boothbay Harbor, ME, United States)
Sun, Henry
(Desert Research Inst. Reno, NV, United States)
Vago, Jorge L.
(European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Voytek, Mary A.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Weiss, Paul S.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Westall, Frances
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Orleans, France)
Date Acquired
November 30, 2016
Publication Date
May 15, 2014
Publication Information
Publication: Life Sciences in Space Research
Publisher: http://www.elsevier.com/
Volume: 2
Subject Category
Exobiology
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN21829
Meeting Information
Meeting: Life Detection Workshop (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Location: La Jolla, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: February 15, 2012
End Date: February 17, 2012
Sponsors: NASA Headquarters, European Space Agency. Centre Spatial de Toulouse, Committee on Space Research
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Life Detection
Extraterrestrial Life
Mars Sample Return

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