I’ve heard progress on SpaceX's Interplanetary Starship has been made throughout this year. However, even though it’s exciting to hear that mankind maybe becoming a multi-planetary species soon, I’ve been hearing a lot of concern from biologists recently. Some people fear that it is way too early for human missions to Mars and that having a spacecraft that can move from Mars to Earth risks biological contamination. SpaceX has mentioned before that it does take planetary protection seriously, as seen in this statement (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/spacex-takes-planetary-protection-seriously/2016/06/16/fe1929f0-327c-11e6-ab9d-1da2b0f24f93_story.html from the communications officer at SpaceX. However, I can’t come by any statements of articles that mention SpaceX’s planetary protection policy plans.

I’ve heard some conflicting reports, stating that the laws are not heavily enforced on private companies like SpaceX, and I can’t find anything about Planetary Protection on their website. There have been sources though that mention that they do follow the same protocols that NASA has (https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/17359/what-plan-does-spacex-have-for-planetary-protection while others have given some criticism (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24432605-800-should-spacex-be-allowed-to-contaminate-mars-with-earth-microbes/​ https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-starship-may-be-more-moral-catastrophe-than-bold-step-in-space-exploration-124450 That leads me to my first question, does SpaceX have to legally abide by the Planetary Protection laws that NASA has to follow too? If this answer is no, then I suggest going to congress and create new laws and treaties to ensure a safe mission. Let me just say it here that I don't want the mission to Mars to be canceled, but I want to make sure that it is safe and we have a minimum of four years to do this.

The second issue I have with the 2024 mars mission is SpaceX hasn't said much about measures they are taking to prevent forward and backward contamination. As I mentioned before, SpaceX hasn't put anything on their website about Planetary Protection measures. Elon Musk, the creator of SpaceX has brought this up that he isn't too concerned about Planetary Protection, as he believes Earth and Mars both received lifeforms and bacteria from meteors and comets throughout the years. I've got to admit, his theory seems very plausible, but he can't prove it. That leads me to my second question, when collaborating with NASA does Elon Musk acknowledge the Planetary Protection practices. Some have been saying that he’s throwing the Planetary Protection rules right out the window. However, I have doubts as he is a genius, and I believe he still considers these principles.

The biggest concern I have is the risk for backward Planetary protection rules. As you know, the world is gripped in the crisis of COVID-19, which has already ruined life as we know it. I’m assuming after this, nobody is ever going to want to deal with a Global Pandemic again. However, what scares me is that future missions to Mars could potentially bring back harmful germs and pathogens from Mars that could alter Earth’s ecosystem or cause an unstoppable pandemic that could kill millions of people. I know NASA and all government space agencies around the world have excellent rules to protect us from these kinds of disasters, but SpaceX is a private company. The spacecraft doesn’t seem to have any defenses to get rid of Martian germs. Here’s what I mean. Let’s compare the 2031 Sample Return Mission with the SpaceX 2024 Mars Starship mission. The sample return capsule which will contain the rock samples from Mars to bring back to Earth have multiple layers of containment to prevent any germs from escaping. SpaceX’s starship, as I’ve seen will return to Earth after the missions is done without any layers of containment or sterilization. The human mission in 2024 will answer alarming questions whether Mars is safe for humans or not. If the astronauts discover or start developing some kind of illness caused by Mars, we will know the truth that Mars is too dangerous to be colonized. However, my main fear is that before the 2024 mission, a 2022 mission will be carried out carrying robots to set up the base where the astronauts will be working in two years. My main concern is that in 2022, if the starships fly back to Earth after dropping off the instruments, and we don’t know if a deadly or harmful pathogen exists on Mars, we could bring it back without knowing. A statement towards SpaceX’s backward planetary protection mission issues that caught my eyes was said by biologist Robert Walker on Quora who said on this page (https://www.quora.com/Do-you-think-Elon-Musk-will-send-humans-to-Mars that "The worst case is that Earth life, never having encountered anything like it before, has never evolved any defenses to Martian microbes and they just munch through higher animals and plants on Earth and they offer no resistance. Only short-lived microscopic creatures would evolve fast enough to survive.” That’s scared me very badly. I did do some research and found that the chances of a global-wide deadly pandemic from Mars are highly unlikely, though it still seems incredibly scary to me. I couldn’t stand the thought of the world dying within my life all because of a space mission, and very soon too. The feeling is indescribable terror, and for someone like me, I’m only 18.

To solve this issue, my suggestion would be that when the "Starship" spacecraft is returning to Earth, I would suggest that the spacecraft, should be sterilized thoroughly with instruments in space before landing back on Earth. A space station should be set up to cleanse astronauts for three weeks to get every single scrap of Martian germs or dust off their bodies. As seen in the google drawing I made above, I believe this is what the Space Station should look like. The figures at the top of the page show the steps that would be taken.

1.The “Starship” spacecraft pulls into the space station, either located orbiting Mars, Earth, or even the moon.

2. Docking procedures begin.

3. The boarding chute is deployed and the astronauts make their way into the station.

4.The spacecraft is thoroughly sterilized using chemicals that are used in planning phases of Mars rover missions.

5.The spacecraft is sterilized by heat the same it’s done for the Mars rover missions.

6. In the astronaut chamber, there are 12 pods, which can hold 10 astronauts and their spacesuits in each. The spacesuits are sterilized the same way as the spacecraft, through chemicals and heat, and the astronauts themselves are cleansed throughly.

7. After everything is checked over (which would take a couple of weeks), the astronauts are permitted to return to the spacecraft.

8. The spacecraft disengages from the station.

9. The spacecraft is permitted to head back to Earth.

10. The Starship lands back on Earth directly landing in a giant quarantine hanger. The roof will open to let the Starship enter into the building. The interior of the building must be designed to withstand the rocket's blast as it lands on the ground.

11. The astronauts exit the starship and enter a quarantine tower.

12. The starship is moved into a second sterilization process begins, just to make sure it is fully cleaned.

13. a.The astronauts need to be put into extra quarantine inside of a three story tower in the hangar, and need to be exposed to plant life in the quarantine areas just to double check that there is no alternating effects from Martian Microbes that could harm other animals or plants on Earth. If they find an unknown biological threat inside from the astronauts, they must remain contained in the room, until astrobiologists diagnosis what the germ is, and find a cure for it. The CDC and WHO will need to be alerted immediately. The tower will have many things a normal house will have to keep the astronauts comfortable and entertained.

13. b. Worst Case Scenario: If the possible biological microbes found in the quarantine tower is found deadly to all plant life, human life, animal life, or two or all of the above the astronauts will have to be loaded into an escape capsule-as seen in the picture and launch back into space back to the Planetary Protection space station. They lock up with a separate emergency isolation center, which sealed apart from the rest of the station. The only entrance is the airlock gate from for the starship. Once aboard, astrobiologists will use remote controlled automatic systems to diagnosis the problem with the astronauts to prevent person to person contact. As long as it takes, if the problem is solved and cured, the astronauts will be permitted to come home in the return capsule. However, the Starship and the Isolation chamber must be jettisoned away from the station and Earth and into the sun to ensure no chance of accidentally bringing back germs to Earth. But, as heartbreaking as it is, if finding a cure is impossible, the astronauts will have to remain in space for the rest of their lives. Once the astronauts die, the station's isolation center will have to be jettisoned away from Earth into the sun carrying the astronauts' bodies. The quarantine tower and hangar must never be used again. A new one has to be built, and that one needs to remain closed off from the rest of the world forever. All planned human missions to Mars or sample return missions around the world would need to be cancelled.

 14. Once it is deemed 100% safe, the astronauts will be permitted to leave the quarantine tower and return home. After being thoroughly cleaned, the starship will be prepped for the next mission.

Note: The space station doesn’t just have to be used for SpaceX but it could be used for space agencies, commercial or government all over the world to ensure safe decontamination.

Second Note: If human missions to mars determine that 100% there is absolutely no present life on the surface of the Planet, the planetary protection methods can be dropped down in categories. Until then it must remain the highest level of risk category.

Second, if it isn’t already in place, laws need to be passed for commercial space companies to abide by. Third, until Mars is considered to be germ-free, both NASA and SpaceX need to conduct missions to search for pathogens and unusual material, such as what Perseverance is doing. Fourth, before the human missions get there, the 2022 starships should stay on Mars until humans arrive, so that we can confirm if there is any biological threat on Mars. Fifth, when the mission begins to take shape in the next few years, NASA and SpaceX need to collaborate on the planning phase to ensure the highest possible level of safety in the history of Spaceflight.  Sixth, make SpaceX and all other private space companies planetary protection methods public, so that people can be assured of the highest level of safety.  Finally, the 2022 mission as it is scanning for possible hazards, a small automated lab should be put on the planet to exposed Martian soil to Earth like-conditions, to see if there are any dormant microbes and would reawaken if exposed to Earth conditions. I said earlier, cancelling the mission to Mars is not what I want to happen. That last thing I want to do is to destroy people’s dreams of getting to the red planet. But at the same time, I want to make sure that our own planet is safe. I believe that SpaceX can pull off this historic mission, but at the same time also protecting our world at the same time.

I hope this note will help address some important questions that need to be answered before this endeavor goes underway. As a citizen, I believe that it should be my duty to help this world in any way I can. Asking questions that almost nobody else seems to be asking and finding out solutions. So please, support this petition today!