A new NASA directive seeks to loosen “planetary protection” rules meant to avoid the contamination other worlds with microbial life from Earth.
The policy shift arrived via a message to NASA personnel that was obtained and shared yesterday by the independent watchdog sites NASA Watch and Astrobiology.com. In it, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman writes that procedures for avoiding contamination “must reflect our current scientific knowledge” and argues that this knowledge has shifted since the current rules were established decades ago.
The directive “ensures we can use our incredible data to lower costs on our missions,” says Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This process will also help increase commercial capabilities — getting more missions into space by streamlining space exploration.”