As we explore the Solar System, it is important that we do not accidentally contaminate untouched and unspoilt extraterrestrial environments in any way. In this free course you will learn about ‘Planetary Protection’ and why it is critical for our future exploration and use of space. This course has been developed with support from the ...

  As we explore the Solar System, it is important that we do not accidentally contaminate untouched and unspoilt extraterrestrial environments in any way. This is especially true when searching for evidence of life. This article explores the concept of ‘Planetary Protection’ and why it is critical for the future of space exploration.

Mars continues to be at the forefront of international space exploration programmes, but as plans to bring samples back from the red planet and perhaps even send humans there edge closer, how can we ensure we do not contaminate the very environment we’re interested in understanding more about?

As our understanding of life and its potential beyond Earth improves, attention is moving towards smaller bodies, including moons and dwarf planets in the outer regions of our Solar System. But how can we strike a balance between exploring these new worlds and ensuring they remain unspoilt?

Silvio Sinibaldi explores some of the current challenges and opportunities in planetary protection.

What is planetary protection? This article explores the policies and legislative action of forwards and backwards contamination.

Space exploration is full of possibilities, especially when searching for signs of life. But the reality is complex. What lies behind the many decisions that have to be taken to design and run a space exploration mission?

For good reasons, there are rules about how we run the risk of introducing Earth microbes onto other planets. Dave Rothery suggests we might need to relax those standards as we explore further.

The potential for an ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa opens up the possibilities of it being habitable for life. With missions due to visit the moon in the coming decade, it is an exciting time for astrobiologists. This article explores why Europa might be a target in the search for life, and what the potential might be of finding it there.

The possibility of water on Mars has captured human imagination for over a century. In this free course, The Search for Water on Mars, find out more about how scientists have found evidence for water in the red planet’s past and present, and what this might mean for the possibility of life beyond Earth.

The new discipline of astrobiology that is, the science of searching for extraterrestrial life, is not only rapidly growing, but has also captured the public imagination. This free course, Icy bodies: Europa and elsewhere, examines the emergence of icy satellites of distant planets as potential sites of extraterrestrial life, looks at the ...

This free course, Galaxies, stars and planets, is a general introduction, including scale of the universe from the very large to the very small; orbits and gravity; the Solar System; the Sun and other stars; galaxies and the composition of astronomical objects.