THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences and Division on Earth and Life Sciences
Space Studies Board and Board on Life Sciences
Committee on Planetary Protection
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Congressional Briefing
Friday, September 16, 2022 – 2:00 p.m.
via Zoom
on
Planetary Protection Considerations for Missions to Solar System Small Bodies
This new report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, responds to NASA's request for a study on planetary protection categorization of missions to small bodies, including whether there are particular populations of small bodies for which contamination of one object in the population would not be likely to have a tangible effect on the opportunities for scientific investigation using other objects in the population. In addressing NASA's request, the authoring committee considered surface composition of target bodies and their importance for prebiotic chemistry, along with size of the small-body populations, the current state of knowledge on the types of objects, the likelihood of a future scientific mission returning to any specific object, active object surface processes, and the size.
This briefing was for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on September 15, 2022 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.