The photo of the Chinese Mars rover "Zhurong" taken on May 11, 2021, on the Utopia Planitia of Mars.

This is an expert article published by the American publication "Space News," which we share with you.

Planetary protection is a measure aimed at protecting our world from contamination by any biological material brought back from outer space.

The ghost of the "Andromeda Strain" still lingers, as written by Michael Crichton in his 1969 novel of the same name, later adapted into a thriller movie.

Given that China is advancing a dedicated facility for its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, some experts are considering: should their handling and isolation building plans and ideas be subject to international inspection?

Is this a way to promote cooperation?

Coustenis is the chair of the Planetary Protection Working Group of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

COSPAR is a forum open to scientists for exchanging results, information, and opinions and discussing issues that may affect space research.

Coustenis pointed out: "The budget request proposed by President Trump to Congress does not support NASA's Mars sample return, while China's Mars sample return mission (Tianwen-3) is progressing smoothly."

"They plan to launch it between 2028 and 2030 and are addressing several technical challenges, and they invite international collaboration."

A diagram showing the roadmap for China's Mars sample return mission (MSR) scheduled for 2028.

NASA's troubled project to bring Mars samples back to Earth remains in legislative limbo. This project, jointly conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency, is costly and has an unrealistic timeline.

China is building a dedicated Mars sample research facility outside the capital of Anhui Province, Hefei.

The samples returned by the Tianwen-3 mission will undergo comprehensive biochemical and pathological tests within this facility, according to Chinese experts, who stated that these samples will be strictly isolated from the Earth environment.

Chinese colleagues pointed out that Mars exploration is a common cause for all humanity. They wrote that the "Tianwen-3" mission "is committed to achieving win-win cooperation, harmonious coexistence, and common prosperity through international cooperation."

They actively seek international cooperation through various channels and at different levels, conducting joint scientific research, selecting landing sites, and developing and testing scientific payloads.

Political sensitive unforeseen dangers.

What unexpected dangers might be encountered during the transport of Martian fragments to Earth?

This was the focus of a meeting of the bipartisan Biosecurity Committee on May 7, with the theme "Space Biosecurity: Biological Threats and the Next Frontier." The committee brought together experts from NASA, academia, and industry to discuss future space biological threats.

The committee defined space biosecurity as a defense against biological threats that could result from space exploration, emphasizing two goals: "preventing the contamination of environments beyond Earth by terrestrial organisms," and "preventing harm to Earth residents caused by mutated microorganisms from beyond the solar system or Earth itself."

"Although international inspection is ideal, it is a politically sensitive and controversial issue," responded John T. O'Brien, the chief researcher of the biosecurity committee.

"For decades, member states have been discussing whether to add an inspection mechanism, but no agreement has been reached due to concerns over national security and commercial espionage," O'Brien explained.

O'Brien said that "this may not be a formal inspection, but rather one achieved through international peer review, convened by the International Scientific Committee (COSPAR)."

However, this must be done with the consent and invitation of China.

Could this become a way to encourage cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese MSR teams?

"This can absolutely and should be a way of cooperation, especially because it involves more scientific and safety aspects of biological research, rather than intellectual property and state secrets surrounding biological research," O'Brien said.

No mandatory supervision.

So far, all planetary protection compliance has been voluntary and self-reported, without mandatory supervision.

"There is no true international enforcement mechanism."

Until 2017, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognized COSPAR policies as appropriate guidelines for compliance with Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty.

Part of Article IX relates to the exploration of celestial bodies and avoiding "harmful contamination and adverse changes to the Earth environment caused by the introduction of extraterrestrial substances, and taking appropriate measures when necessary to achieve this purpose."

Nevertheless, Conley suggested that since countries usually dislike other countries inspecting their actions, it is unclear who should enforce any type of inspection.

Conley doubted that any proposal for implementing international planetary protection compliance monitoring would be completely rejected.



This article refers to the American publication "Space News."

Leonard David

"China wants to return samples from Mars. Will there be any international cooperation?"

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535585864349532722/

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