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Comment on If we ever find a planet with life in it, we could never set foot on it, because the interaction of the two biologies can have unpredictable consequences

Trigger2_2000@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

That’s why this is done: https://www.nasa.gov/ames/space-biosciences/planetary-protection/

I realize you were probably talking about visiting other worlds in person, but we would probably still have unmanned missions there first.

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RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
NASA is funny. They are always searching for signs of life, past or present, on planets in our system when they can send a lander of some sort. But, if there is a spot where there actually might be a chance of life existing, they avoid it because of the minuscule chance of some bacteria on any rover contaminating the area.

We’ll look for signs of life where it’s hard to find and avoid the areas where there might be a better chance of it.

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- Trigger2_2000@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  NASA has been doing the sterilization I listed above for decades now; it’s not new.
  
  Can you give some examples (preferably with references) of where NASA (or ESA, etc) have avoided areas due to fear of contamination?
  
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