Science

NASA's New Planetary Protection Policy

Updated 2026-09-30 18:40 UTC 1 source Neutral

NASA has issued a directive that might increase the risk of contaminating Mars by loosening U.S. regulations for sterilizing spacecraft bound for the Red Planet. The move aims to modernize planetary protection science.

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Scientific American

NASA directive might increase the odds of contaminating Mars

The new push loosens U.S. regulations for sterilizing spacecraft bound for the Red Planet and calls for modernizing the science of “planetary protection”

2026-09-30 17:35 UTC