The search for Martian life

artiteacher The ultimate heist of Mars Sample Return

Quiz

What is the highest level of biosafety containment used for dangerous pathogens?

Quiz

What is the joint NASA-ESA mission to bring soil back to Earth called?

BETA

artiteacher Scan Martian rocks with rover lasers to discover how scientists search for ancient life.

artiteacher The shield of planetary protection

artiteacher Strict protocols prevent Earth microbes from contaminating Mars, and vice versa.

Quiz

Why must technicians wear full bodysuits when building Mars rovers?

Quiz

What is the main danger of accidentally bringing Earth microbes to Mars?

artiteacher Bringing Mars back to Earth

Bring it back, bring it back / We are bringing Mars back home!

artiteacher Inside a level-four biohazard lab

artiteacher Returned Martian rocks will be analyzed in the most secure labs on Earth.

Quiz

Where will returned Mars samples be analyzed to guarantee safety?

Quiz

What is the practice of preventing biological contamination between planets called?

Fun Fact

Clean room assembly: Spacecraft looking for life are built in 'clean rooms' where technicians wear full bodysuits to prevent human skin flakes or hair from contaminating the robot.

artiteacher The debate over Martian microbes

Quiz

What would finding fossilized life on Mars prove about the universe?

Quiz

How will scientists handle returned Mars samples inside containment labs?

Glossary

sample (noun)
A small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like. NASA's Perseverance rover began caching Martian rock samples in Jezero Crater in September 2021.

Gossip

Should we worry about Martian pathogens?