Very Long Term Planning: Integrating Planetary Protection in Human Missions

Despite decades of experience with human missions in low Earth orbit (LEO), we have only scant, outdated information applicable to human missions to planetary surfaces, where contamination concerns and planetary protection requirements raise unusual challenges.   It has been over 40 years since the Apollo program dealt with the challenges of humans living, exploring and returning from the  surfaces of celestial bodies.  Join us for a forward looking discussion on how changes in science, technology and policies are impacting future human exploration plans. Developing the necessary infrastructure, habitats, spacesuits, rovers, operations and plans for human missions beyond LEO is a very long term process, and the identification of strategic knowledge gaps in science and technology is an important part of the incremental path forward.

Speaker: Margaret Race, SETI