In the modern era, when NASA returns samples from other planetary bodies-such as comets and asteroids-we do not take biological precautions there is enough evidence that life as we know it cannot thrive on these small dry and desolate bodies, subjected to the harsh radiation of space.
As we learned more about the lunar samples with our laboratories on Earth, we learned that we could relax those precautions. For example, during the Apollo missions which brought back samples from the moon in the 60s and 70s, the first few missions took precautions akin to what would be expected for handling viruses or other disease-carrying microorganisms that could lead to rapid, dramatic infectious disease and death, like Ebola. The necessary precautions when returning samples from another planetary body are based on the best available understanding at the time of the mission’s design, build, launch and operation. It only comes into play for most Earth dwellers when NASA considers bringing samples back from another part of the solar system. This discipline is found at the intersection between microbiology, space science, engineering (the art of building a spacecraft), and diplomacy. B., in the book and film, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, the virus strain came from a US Army mission), NASA has over 50 years of looking at exploring the solar system with conservatism in mind from a public health point of view, while also keeping a planetary ecosystem health point of view via a discipline known as planetary protection. How do we, as humans, take precautions without being dominated by fear? Why is it that we, as humans, fear the unknown and the unknowable? In our history of exploring the other worlds in our solar system, and in our history of facing public health crises, such as COVID-19, there has been a fundamental tendency to approach the unknown in a way that converts precautions and conservatism into fear. Cognitive Soundtracks as Frameworks for Current UnknowablesįebruCOVID-19, Extraterrestrial Sample Return, and The Andromeda Strain