Any project, supported or not by a committee, that is currently being worked on or is considered active, and will have an end date. The Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP) monitors progress ...

It's every astronomer's worst nightmare: a future crewed mission to Mars or even beyond goes terribly awry when astronauts contaminate another planet with destructive microbes from Earth, devastating ...

Protecting planets from extraterrestrial invasion might sound like a job that only exists in science fiction. But NASA recently posted a "Help Wanted" ad for exactly this position, under the name ...

The job title makes it sound like a job for Bruce Willis or Ben Affleck, but what NASA wants in a Planetary Protection Officer is more brains, less brawn. According to the job description, the ...

More than 50 years after Neil Armstrong first walked on the Moon, space exploration has become almost commonplace. The record for most space launches in a single year has been broken every year for ...

HOUSTON—The concept of planetary protection—the prevention of life forms on other planets from infecting Earth and preventing terrestrial life forms from contaminating other worlds—has a long history.

One exciting part of the Mars 2020 mission – which features the Perseverance rover that landed on Mars last month — is the collection of Mars rocks for possible return to Earth. In order to preserve ...

What are the chances that aliens would visit? Andromeda, pictured here, is our nearest galaxy. There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies – and 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the ...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to hire its first-ever Planetary Protection Officer to protect against any alien life that might hitch a ride back to Earth on one ...

The Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP) monitors progress implementing the planetary protection guidelines associated with priority programs and missions identified in the National Academies ...