Space scientists are making efforts to gather insights regarding the exploration of Mars. Countries like China and the U.S. are taking a keen interest in Mars exploration programs as they aim to reserve the rocky samples obtained from Mars in their labs. Moreover, the American space agency has even formulated a plan to store these samples in a completely secure lab that is free from outside interference, located in a remote area near the U.S. Air Force facility in Utah.
On the other hand, some scientists are not happy with these anticipated proposals as they think the pathogens obtained from Mars would pose a considerable threat to the Earth’s environment. They further said that the Martian samples might contain hazardous and life-threatening microbes that would be fatal to the living beings on Earth. They expressed their concerns through online forums where one user said, “Are you out of your minds? Not just no, but hell no! ” Similarly, the other said, “No nation should put the whole planet at risk.”
If seen from a broader perspective, their concerns are valid, but NASA has not and will never think of compromising on the safety of the planet. As per Scientific American Reports, “NASA maintains that the mission presents little to no risk to environmental or human safety, a view that—to be fair—many experts share.” Moreover, Steve Benner, who is a renowned astrobiologist, talked in favor of bringing these Martian samples to Earth and said that if for a second, we accept that these samples would pose a threat to our planet, then we would have been known about it by now.
As per the scientists, about 500 kg of this Martian debris plunges into the Earth each year, because the hitting of asteroids or other space rocks is a pretty normal phenomenon on Mars. Benner said, “In the over 3.5 billion years since life appeared on Earth, trillions of other rocks have made similar journeys. If Mars microbiota exists and can wreak havoc on Earth’s biosphere, it has already happened, and a few more kilograms from NASA will not make any difference. “
Although it’s a reasonable debate on how to prevent Martian samples from entering the Earth with the aim of saving our planet from these pathogens, it would be a more considerable debate to think of ways to mitigate the risk of such effects as it is a natural phenomenon and space exploration is a good thing as it might open the doors to many new opportunities for scientists, which might pave a way for further future research.
