From: alain245@videotron.ca   
      
   On Jul/31/2020 at 13:03, David Spain wrote :   
   > On 2020-07-30 8:36 PM, JF Mezei wrote:   
   > [snip]   
   >> The other worry, especially in a COVID context is how to ensure humans   
   >> who goto mars never return anything that could potentially wipe out   
   >> human ciovilization?   
   >>   
   >> Just because the ground where a robotic lander has found only dead life   
   >> doesn't mean that there isn't something alive elsewhere, especially if   
   >> any digging happens at the colony to get water and whatever is needed to   
   >> make methane and O2.   
   >>   
   >   
   > That's why I'm not a big fan of sample return directly to Earth instead   
   > of the ISS or its replacement, commercial or otherwise. But I'm the   
   > cautious type. Some folks are willing to die on Mars, either for the   
   > right or wrong reasons....   
      
   Personally, I think the risk of bio-contamination is very small, even if   
   there is life on Mars. If you bring back a sample containing living   
   organism from Mars, and accidentally spill its contents in the wild, I   
   would think that the probability that such a spill would do harm on   
   Earth is about the same as the risk of an asteroid wiping out humanity.   
   You don't find viruses that can contaminate plants and animals, it is   
   much more unlikely to find something that thrive on Mars and in Earth   
   inhabitants. That said, I do think that we should allocate more   
   resources to searching celestial objects that could impact Earth and to   
   strategies to react to the threat if we do find a major impactor coming   
   towards Earth. We should also handle with care any sample brought back   
   from Mars. Even if the risk is very low, the consequences could be very   
   high.   
      
      
   Alain Fournier   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)