should we be afraid of contamination by a Martian virus?

The world has been caught off guard by the coronavirus epidemic. Just as it could be caught off guard by the release of pathogens from another planet. From Mars, more precisely, since NASA is increasingly considering seriously bringing back samples of rocks from the red planet.

In the news for several weeks, the global health crisis caused by theemergence of a new coronavirus responsible forCovid-19 outbreak makes the headlines. And for the past few days, with the announcement of the strengthening of the team attached to the mission March 2020, the prospect of bringing back on Earth rock samples from another planet. Two pieces of information with no apparent links.

However, fans of science fiction may have thought of it, introduce into our biosphere potential extraterrestrial organisms might not be without consequence. The risk that agents pathogens against which we have not developed defenses to be propagated on Earth is very weak. Certainly. But the consequences could be serious.

Experts believe that a Martian life form is more likely to affect the Earth's environment than human health. But if life on Mars were to be linked to life on Earth, Martian pathogens could actually affect humans. Like diseases that are transmitted from one species to the other.

Precautions to take

From this perspective, we may have a lot to learn from the way the crisis is being dealt with.epidemic from Covid-19. The tests of diagnostic are not, for example, perfectly effective. And it takes several days for the symptoms Are growing. Furthermore, such an epidemic could be naturally checked by the change in season. But that might not be true in the case of an extraterrestrial pathogen.

Above all, you will have to be extremely careful with the samples that will be brought back from Mars. They must be strictly confined and quickly tested in order to detect traces of life and possibly biological risks. These precautions will require dedicated facilities and will be expensive.

But they will also, conversely, protect the Martian samples from a contamination earthly. Because researchers currently imagine more likely that terrestrial organisms can be transported to Mars in the future. Causing problems for future settlers of the Red Planet.

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