Mark says: Real scientists who work in the field are already concerned with planetary protection.

There is no need for ICAMSR except as a platform for discredited scientists and authors promoting their long rejected theories.

BD: ICAMSR was started for two reasons: To draw attention to the Viking LR experiment results showing that microbes might have been discovered on Mars (thus extreme caution when talking about MSR) and because NASA's nutty plan to return Mars soils samples in a container that would plummet through Earth's atmosphere and impacting the Utah desert basically using the Earth itself as a catchers mit. True MSR is on hold until 2014, so ICAMSR is in a holding pattern. Not much to say about MSR until concrete plans are in place. The website reamins as a monumnet to the hap hazard way the Goldin administration was pursuing MSR - with its "cheaper, better, faster philosphy which saw the loss of Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter all in a few months of each other. If NASA were to lose a returning MSR return capsule filled with potential Martian life (perhaps toxins and pathogens) over another country then what? Look what happened to the Russian Mars 96 probe. The plutonium battery casings came in with all theother debris over Chile and Bolivia. Neither the US (who had an experiment called MOx abaord) nor Russian did anything to recover the plutonium battery casings. For all we know, some terrorist group has it know. Is that responsible to you? Those kinds of things sparked ICAMSR.

So Mark you are telling everyone here that the renewed interest in Levin and Straat's work has been "long rejected"? Perhaps to you, but not concerned scientists. According to Dr. David McKay (ALH 84001 fame - you do know who he is right?), Simon Clement and Dr. David Warmflash the issue is far from settled. Here is what they said at the 2002 SPIE Meeting:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2002SPIE.4495...89W&db_key=AST&high=3de6125d8d14794

Progress in the search for organic matter on Mars: implications for the interpretation of the Viking Labeled Release data Authors: Warmflash, David M.; Clemett, Simon J.; McKay, David S.

Proc. SPIE Vol. 4495, p. 89-95, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV, Richard B. Hoover; Gilbert V. Levin; Roland R. Paepe; Alexei Y. Rozanov; Eds. (SPIE Homepage)

Abstract

The possibility that the positive outcome of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment (LR) had resulted from the presence of extant Martian microorganisms in samples examined on Mars was dismissed based largely on the failure of the Viking Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) to demonstrate the presence of organic mole-cules. More recent findings suggesting that the Viking GCMS would have missed such molecules if present necessitates a re-evaluation of the Viking LR data as well as a continued search for organic material and life at the Martian surface. In addition to advanced mass spectrometers to look for organic signatures of biological processes, future lander missions may use biological techniques, such as immunoassay, to directly detect bio-organic molecules. Meanwhile, several decades in advance of any planned sample return missions, the examination of Mars samples already present on Earth in the form of the SNC meteorites indicates that organic matter has existed in the Martian upper crust. It is concluded that a biological interpretation of the LR on Mars cannot be dismissed and should now be considered at least as plausible as a non-biological interpretation until more complete studies of the Martian sur-face are carried out.

BD asks: Well Mark? Waht about the abstract above? Just going to ignore it as "one of those things" or what?

BD