Rettberg Petra, Anesio Alexandre M, Baker Victor R, Baross John A, Cady Sherry L, Detsis Emmanouil, Foreman Christine M, Hauber Ernst, Ori Gian Gabriele, Pearce David A, Renno Nilton O, Ruvkun Gary, Sattler Birgit, Saunders Mark P, Smith David H, Wagner Dirk, Westall Frances
1 German Aerospace Centre , Cologne, Germany .
2 Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol , Bristol, UK.
Astrobiology. 2016 Feb;16(2):119-25. doi: 10.1089/ast.2016.1472. Epub 2016 Feb 5.
We highlight the role of COSPAR and the scientific community in defining and updating the framework of planetary protection. Specifically, we focus on Mars "Special Regions," areas where strict planetary protection measures have to be applied before a spacecraft can explore them, given the existence of environmental conditions that may be conducive to terrestrial microbial growth. We outline the history of the concept of Special Regions and inform on recent developments regarding the COSPAR policy, namely, the MEPAG SR-SAG2 review and the Academies and ESF joint committee report on Mars Special Regions. We present some new issues that necessitate the update of the current policy and provide suggestions for new definitions of Special Regions. We conclude with the current major scientific questions that remain unanswered regarding Mars Special Regions.
我们强调了国际空间研究委员会（COSPAR）和科学界在界定及更新行星保护框架方面所发挥的作用。具体而言，我们聚焦于火星“特殊区域”，鉴于存在可能有利于地球微生物生长的环境条件，在航天器能够探索这些区域之前，必须实施严格的行星保护措施。我们概述了特殊区域概念的历史，并介绍了COSPAR政策的最新进展，即行星保护咨询小组特殊区域分委会第二次审查以及各科学院和欧洲科学基金会联合委员会关于火星特殊区域的报告。我们提出了一些需要更新现行政策的新问题，并为特殊区域的新定义提供了建议。我们最后阐述了关于火星特殊区域目前仍未得到解答的主要科学问题。
