Justin asks: What if I said the NRC wasn't credible?

Then I would ask: Where is your "scientific" proof that they are wrong? Will COSPAR and NRC find your evidence so credible as to do away with planetary protection protocols? Let's here your argument with the NRC?

Zubrin thinks that the only force operating in evolution is natural selection and he thinks that pathogencity can never be incidental. One of the major forces in evolution is isolation of populations, which can result the emergence of entirely new taxa. This could happen when populations become isolated tucked away someplace on Earth or if they are blown into space.

It's my opinion that it will be a risk to bring Martian organisms to Earth but that we should use extreme caution and bring them anyway, though probably better to bring them to the moon or space station and study them there (I will volunteer to take the risk by going to the moon to study them) because there are potential benefits. The current MSR plans are not cautious enough.

Level 4 isolation makes sense but I am concenred about getting from space to the isolation facility so I think that we should do a level 4 isolation off the Earth. In addition to what we can learn about biology at the fundamental level, maybe, as in the case of bizarre organisms from the Brazilian rain forest - which, like ET organisms, can be a source of toxins that when removed from their environment might cause an epidemic in humans - we may discover cures to certain diseases.

Zubrin is obviously not interested in studying Martian life but is nevertheless motivated with seemingly good intentions; he wants humanity to become a multi-planet species before it nukes itself out of exitence. Can't blame him for that. But he is a FOOL for denying that we would be exposing ourselves to a risk whereas I (and others) talk about the risk and have not decided exactly how big the risk is and we want some data to help us determine what it is. Zubrin is positive that there is no risk. And he does this not only vis-a'-vis the contamination issue but with other factors (radiation, etc.).

BarryD