In a quiet part of rural Arizona, hundreds of people die almost instantly from blood clots. Some die in the middle of the road, while others “quietly go crazy” before killing themselves, often in a bizarre manner.
It turned out that the cause was a satellite from space that brought with it a deadly pathogen. A group of scientists from the US Air Force’s “scary fire” team race to stop extraterrestrial contamination and prevent a global meltdown.
This is the plot of Michael Crichton’s bestselling science fiction book The Andromeda Strain, published in 1969. More than 50 years later, U.S. politicians and disaster planners are taking this conspiracy much more seriously.
As humanity moves deeper into the cosmos and round-trip flights into space become routine, a new report from the U.S. Bipartisan Commission on Biosafety has called on governments around the world to “take immediate action to address biological threats emerging at the intersection of space exploration and infectious diseases.” .”
Forget the little green men of Hollywood folklore. The commission says it is not aliens or UFOs that pose the greatest risk, but microorganisms and the challenges of space travel. Plus the completely unimaginative use of biological weapons in space.
“Human exploration of the solar system and beyond continues, and with this exploration, biological risk increases,” the commission’s authors write in the May 2024 National Biodefense Plan.
“Probes or humans visiting extraterrestrial environments should not introduce Earth organisms into those environments. Conversely, they must also ensure that they do not return extraterrestrial or mutated terrestrial microbes that could pose a threat to the human, animal, plant, or ecosystem health of the Earth or to the Moon.”
It’s not just the import and export of pathogens between worlds that the commission is concerned about. “Space flight sometimes reactivates viruses (e.g. herpes, Epstein-Barr, varicella-zoster, cytomegalovirus) and increases viral shedding in astronauts. It is stated that human infection in a space-like environment could pose a significant threat to everyone on board.”
“Additionally, spaceflight severely weakens astronauts’ immune systems, making them more susceptible to terrestrial and extraterrestrial diseases.”
Astro-biodefense aims to identify, characterize and manage biological threats that arise at the intersection of space exploration and infectious diseases, and the report calls on NASA and the US government to “take immediate action to address these threats before they materialize.”
Celestial contamination laboratories
Specifically, it calls for NASA to establish a Planetary Biodefense Board with a direct link to the White House and to empower NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection to monitor and regulate the arrival and departure of pathogens in space.
“We need to start developing the necessary technologies and containment protocols in advance, so that when we bring things back we can be sure they won’t escape into the environment,” said JT O’Brien, the commission’s principal investigator. public health expert told Telegram.
“We need to make sure these are in place before we start tackling the next frontier.”
NASA already ensures that potentially harmful microbes are not carried between Earth and other celestial bodies through a variety of mechanisms, including decontaminating spacecraft and testing equipment and samples, but the report notes that “they can and should do more.”
One suggestion is for Nasa to adapt its contamination laboratories to deal with potentially high-risk sky samples. Ultimately, the first samples from Mars are expected to be imported in 2033.
But even top-tier BSL 4 laboratories are currently not considered safe enough to handle sensitive samples from space, according to a major study published by the European Space Foundation in 2012.
Some experts think the dangers posed by extraterrestrial pathogens are exaggerated.
“I think the risk is quite low, and that’s because organisms adapt to their conditions. [particular] Gary Trubl, a microbiologist specializing in astrobiology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said:
“The chances of us bringing anything back are very low, and if we do the chances of it adapting to us are very low.”
But it’s not just alien diseases we have to worry about. Research shows that pathogens may become more contagious in space. Increasing radiation levels may cause viruses to mutate more frequently. At the same time, harsh conditions in space can weaken astronauts’ immune systems, making them more susceptible to infections.
“If something from Earth had gone there in a spacecraft, it would have come back looking completely different,” Mr. O’Brien said.
The commission notes that this could be a serious risk if an astronaut goes into space with a respiratory virus such as Covid or flu and then returns with a super-mutated version.
“The environment can make viruses much more lethal and potentially dangerous to people around the world,” Mr O’Brien said.
Since the first manned mission to the Moon, NASA has taken steps to protect the health of crew members, and stringent quarantine measures implemented both before and after space missions reduce the likelihood of disease outbreaks on board; but it’s still a possibility.
Senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, Dr. “The standard for Apollo missions was 21-day quarantine, but you have to consider how many pathogens we have on Earth that incubate for months, even years,” said Jeffrey Kargel.
Although these risks may take decades or never materialize, the message from scientists and experts is that more research is needed to understand the impact of space travel on life on Earth.
Mr. O’Brien emphasized that NASA’s increased biological defenses are a starting point, but it doesn’t just apply to them. As more countries and companies invest in space travel, they too need to put in place stronger regulations and protections.
The danger we would face if we did not do this was expressed many years ago in the Andromeda Lineage.
Telegram He contacted NASA for comment.
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