SOTERIA: searching for organisms through equipment recovery at impact areas
Whitepaper #348 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: life and prebiotic organics; Mercury and/or the Moon; planetary protection
by Jessica Lee, Penelope J. Boston, Denise Buckner, R. Craig Everroad, S. Marshall Ledford, John E. Moores, Günther Reitz, Andrew C. Schuerger, David J. Smith, Philip J. Stooke, Amanda L. Wacker, and Mary Beth Wilhelm
Published onMar 18, 2021
SOTERIA: searching for organisms through equipment recovery at impact areas
Spacecraft sent to the Moon carry microbial contaminants. Do any still survive? Modeling predicts some may, in spacecraft debris at the Lunar South Pole. We propose recovering debris to assay for biosignatures and viable microbes, in a mission that will provide valuable data for astrobiology, planetary protection, and space biology.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
