Quarantine Facility Needed for Future Mars Missions

May 29 -- Development of a quarantine facility must begin soon if it is to be ready in time for the first spacecraft returning to Earth with martian rocks and soil in tow, says a new report from the National Academies' Space Studies Board. Although it is unlikely that these samples will contain hazardous organisms, all material must be initially quarantined to protect both the Earth's environment and the samples against possible contamination.

Full press release (and associated links) at:
http://www4.nationalacademies.org/onpi/webextra.nsf/web/mars?OpenDocument

*Note: Before someone complains that the link is currently non-operational, it was fully operational earlier today.

At any rate, the full (unedited) report titled "The Quarantine and Certification of Martian Samples" can be found (in NAP Open Book format) at

http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309075718/html/

Each page can be individually downloaded and printed in PDF format (15 introductory pages and 183 pages of report and appendices).

Alex R. Blackwell
University of Hawaii