| Tango01 | 18 Aug 2026 10:29 p.m. PST |
"Last week, China announced plans for a dedicated planetary-protection laboratory in Hefei, in eastern China. The facility will receive samples returned by the Tianwen-3 mission, open and process their containers, and assess whether any of the material poses a biological risk.
Tianwen-3 is expected to launch in 2028 and return by 2031 (Opens in new window), carrying material that could reveal Mars's geological history and whether life once existed there. Reaching Mars without fail, collecting surface samples and bringing them home will be an extraordinary engineering feat. But landing the return capsule will not be the end of the mission. Nobody will simply open the lid.
Planetary protection runs in both directions. Earthly microbes hitching a ride could contaminate Mars or the returned samples. A discovery hailed as Martian life might inadvertently turn out to be an inadequately sterilised terrestrial stowaway. The danger in the other direction is much less likely but potentially more consequential. Scientists cannot simply assume that untreated Martian material is harmless before examining it. Sensible safety systems must allow for what we do not yet know…"
link Next plague…?
Armand
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Raynman  | 19 Aug 2026 6:38 a.m. PST |
After the Wuhan failure, I'm not sure I'd trust anyone to bring back anything from Mars! Build a facility on the moon and take it there. |
| 35thOVI | 19 Aug 2026 6:55 a.m. PST |
😂 my first thought too. How quickly will they release it into the world? Wuhan 2. "Illudium Q-36 Syndrome" |
| Andrew Walters | 19 Aug 2026 11:02 a.m. PST |
It's silly to worry about the possibility of bringing back a biological danger from Mars. It's farcically unlikely, while the likelihood of another episode like 2019 is much higher. Microbes only grow in very specific environments. You breathe in all kinds of microbes with every breath, but they can't attach or survive inside your nose or lungs. The ones that can are the minority, and those are the only ones that can make you sick. You could eat COVID virus by the pound and you would not get sick, it cannot infect you through the digestive system. Same with HIV – it has to get into the blood to infect you. If you don't have bleeding gums you could eat HIV and you would not be infected. The point is any thing that was or is alive on Mars would be suited to a specific type of environment, and that environment is wildly different from your nose. Placed in your nose, any microbe from Mars would just die. Wrong pH, wrong temperature, now way to attach, wrong atmosphere, wrong humidity level, etc. It's more important to protect the sample from contamination so any science done on it is valid. It more important yet to protect the global population from microbes that are already here on Earth. |
| JMcCarroll | 19 Aug 2026 2:47 p.m. PST |
We would need to nuke the samples in space, it's the only safe way! |
| 35thOVI | 19 Aug 2026 2:50 p.m. PST |
🤫 There is a certain "Marvin", working on gain-of-function research with them. He is quiet and very polite. Often seen in company with his dog: "K-9". |
| Tango01 | 19 Aug 2026 5:08 p.m. PST |
"…It more important yet to protect the global population from microbes that are already here on Earth…"
Which ones?… same old or new ones?… yust curious…
Armand
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| Zephyr1 | 19 Aug 2026 10:53 p.m. PST |
Ha! It will never leave Mars. The Martians will sabotage it… ;-) |
| 35thOVI | 20 Aug 2026 5:54 a.m. PST |
The Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator didn't work. Maybe this will. They must be able to see Venus unimpeded from Mars! 😡 |
| Tango01 | 20 Aug 2026 1:47 p.m. PST |
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| Stryderg | 20 Aug 2026 8:09 p.m. PST |
I'm not worried about the biological microbes, it's the self replicating Martian nanobots that will get us! |
| Tango01 | 21 Aug 2026 5:20 p.m. PST |
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| Zephyr1 | 23 Aug 2026 9:33 p.m. PST |
I've heard that they've based their Mars program on plans their espionage service stole from Capricorn One… ;-) |
| Tango01 | 24 Aug 2026 5:03 p.m. PST |
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