7 Quiz

Answer the following questions to test your understanding of the key ideas you have learned in this course.

Activity 5

Question 1

Which of the following are reasons behind the need for planetary protection protocols? (select all that apply)

 

Answer

The prevalence of space debris within Earth’s orbital environment is not a reason behind planetary protection, although it is important that the space sector considers carefully how they use the space environment sustainably and responsibly. Protecting Earth from asteroidal impact is also not associated with planetary protection.

Question 2

Which of the following is not a biosignature? (select one correct answer)

 

Answer

The presence of a gas in a planetary atmosphere is not a biosignature. It might imply the presence of life, but it needs to be detected around a specific area of the planet, or at difference times.

Question 3

Match the type of extremophile to the environmental condition it can thrive within.

psychrophiles

temperatures <15 °C

alkaliphiles

pH 8-12.5

halophiles

high salinity

piezophiles

very dry conditions

hyperthermophiles

temperatures 80–121 °C

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. psychrophiles

  2. alkaliphiles

  3. halophiles

  4. piezophiles

  5. hyperthermophiles

  1. temperatures <15 °C

  2. pH 8-12.5

  3. high salinity

  4. very dry conditions

  5. temperatures 80–121 °C

The correct answers are:
  • 1 =
  • 2 =
  • 3 =
  • 4 =
  • 5 =

Question 4

Which of the following are important considerations when determining the planetary protection category of a mission? (select all that apply)

 

Answer

All of these factors are taken into consideration when assigning a mission’s category, including the duration of the mission, since this determines the period of biological exploration and the potential for contamination.

Question 5

What planetary protection category might be applied to a sample return mission to a comet? (select one correct answer)

 

Answer

A sample return mission from a comet is likely to be a Category V ‘unrestricted’.  Although comets are known to contain organic molecules, scientific opinion deems them to have no indigenous life for backward contamination to pose a risk.  The Stardust mission that collected samples from Comet Wild-2 was a Category V ‘unrestricted’ mission but had outbound planetary protection requirements equivalent to Category II, that is, the comet was considered of interest to the origin of life, but the possibility of contamination was considered to be low risk.

Question 6

According to the Outer Space Treaty, states (nations) are responsible for the actions of commercial entities operating within their borders. True or false?

 

Question 7

The Planetary Protection Policy is constantly evolving to reflect changing scientific evidence. The responsibility for this sits with (select one correct answer)

 

Answer

The COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection maintains and updates the Planetary Protection Policy on the basis of emerging scientific evidence.

Question 8

Which of the following is used as a measure of bioburden on spacecraft? (select one correct answer)

 

Answer

The number of spores per unit area is used as a measure of bioburden. Spores are a proxy for all microorganisms that might be present on a spacecraft.

Question 9

Which of the following approaches are not used to minimise bioburden on spacecraft before launch? (select one correct answer)

 

Answer

An acid bath is not used for minimising bioburden because this would be potentially destructive to the sensitive parts of a spacecraft.

Question 10

Crewed missions to Mars or the Moon are not subject to planetary protection requirements. True or false?

 

Answer

False. Crewed missions are subject to planetary protection requirements, but this has been identified as an area that needs more scientific investigation.

OpenLearn - Introduction to Planetary Protection
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