NASA is forming an internal 'planetary-protection' committee of about 15 people to determine the care and handling of extraterrestrial samples. They fear back-contamination by a Martian microbe that could create a true 'Andromeda Strain'.
Two strains of microbes from extreme environments on Earth appeared to survive a short flight through the vacuum and searing radiation of space, according to researchers at the University of Maryland. The experiment lends credence to the theory that primitive life might hitchhike between Earth and other worlds aboard debris from meteorite impacts.
Researchers, environmentalists and policymakers want NASA to consider carefully its plans to visit and bring back samples from Mars, Europa, and other solar system bodies.
NASA has planned a new era in space exploration with an agenda of collecting samples of material from worlds more distant than the Moon. However, this plan runs the risk of both forward contamination (the possibility that spacecraft might contaminate the worlds they land on with Earth microbes) and back contamination (the risk that the samples might contain alien germs capable of turning into a worldwide plague, or at least wreaking havoc with the Earth's natural environment).