"First off, there's not going to be any manned mission to Mars until the back-contamination problem is answered pretty fully. Period. Even if the Planetary Protection Officer signs off, its still going to take NIH, CDC, NRC, NSF, and EPA approval or consent. Otherwise no go."

A total nonissue. 6 months of quarentine in transit plus 2 years on the surface should suffice to determine if humans are contaminated. The agencies you site would only have possible jurisdiction over MSR not a human mission. The issue is whether or not MSR is a necessary prerequisite to human missions.

"You can try all the hand-waving and jump and shout proofs you want, but they won't work, at least not beyond any space bbs. You can also attack Barry, but that won't work for long either, as there are simply too many people you will have to attack."

Barry is the jump and shouter. My arguments based on real microbiology not hypothetical forms of creatures for which there is no evidence on Earth or Mars. Real doctors and microbiologists will see through Barry's quackery even easier than I. Even intelligent high school kids have been able to independently spot the flaws in his arguments. Anyone trained in science should be able to see through both the logical inconsistancies in Barry's arguments as well as his frequent distortion of the facts.

It is a truly sad commentary on the scientific illiteracy of so much of the media that they buy what BD peddles. Their lack of what Sagan calls science's baloney detector is a real threat to MSR simply because they so readily spread scientific nonsense to a gullible public.

Escapism has nothing to do with Martian exploration. Earth is and will remain for quite some time baring human screw ups a far better home for humanity. Mars will be for those with adventurous and daring spirits not escapists. The sole exception is cultural escapists which I don't think represent a significant portion of Mars supporters and whom I personally consider nuts in most cases.

Regards,
Mark