2 What are we protecting space from?

You will have gathered from earlier sections of this course that the two main areas of concern for planetary protection are biological contamination (living microorganisms), or organic contamination (the molecular building blocks/remains of life, or molecules containing carbon that may be mistaken for a biosignature of life).

Understanding the possible types of contamination are important for determining the ways in which their presence can be mitigated, and for determining what can be considered ‘safe’ if they cannot be eliminated entirely.