NAC Planetary Protection Subcommittee
The Planetary Protection Subcommittee (PPS) is a standing subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council's Science Committee, which supports the advisory needs of the Administrator, the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), SMD's Planetary Science Division, NASA's Planetary Protection Officer, and other NASA Mission Directorates as required. The scope of the PPS includes programs, policies, plans, hazard identification and risk assessment, and other matters pertinent to the Agency's responsibilities for biological planetary protection. This scope includes consideration of NASA planetary protection policy documents, implementation plans, and organization. The subcommittee will review and recommend appropriate planetary protection categorizations for all bodies of the solar system to which spacecraft will be sent. The scope also includes the development of near-term enabling technologies, systems, and capabilities, as well as developments with the potential to provide long-term improvements in future operational systems to support planetary protection. Outside the scope of the Subcommittee's responsibilities are issues that pertain solely to the quality and interpretation of scientific experiments and data in support of solar system exploration.
| Eugene (Gene) Levy Chair | Rice University - Provost and Professor of Physics and Astronomy |
| Gale Allen Exec. Secretary | NASA Headquarters – Acting Chief Scientist |
| Penny Boston | New Mexico Tech - Department of Earth and Environmental Science |
| Colleen Cavanaugh | Harvard University - Biological Laboratories |
| Peter Doran | University of Illinois at Chicago - Department Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Joanne Gabrynowicz | University of Mississippi - School of Law |
| Robert Lindberg | National Institute of Aerospace |
| Jere Lipps | University of California - Department of Integrative Biology & Museum of Paleontology |
| Claudia Mickelson | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Office of Environment, Health & Safety |
| Jon D. Miller | Michigan State University - John A. Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies |
| John Rummel | East Carolina University - Institute for Coastal Science and Policy |
| Andrew Steele | Carnegie Institution of Washington - Geophysical Laboratory |
Agency Representatives | |
| Dale W. Griffin | U.S. Geological Survey Environmental/Public Health Microbiologist |
| Victoria Hipkin | Canadian Space Agency (CSA) |
| Gerhard Kminek | European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Gerhard Schwehm | European Space Agency (ESA) |
| Michel Viso | Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) |
NASA Planetary Protection Officer | |
| Cassie Conley | NASA Headquarters - Planetary Sciences Division |
Planetary Protection Meeting Documents
April 2013
December 2012
- Agenda
- Meeting Minutes
- Beauchamp - Technology Studies
- Conley - Update on NASA planetary protection activities
- Frick - Technology studies
- Friedensen - Joint Robotics Precursor Activity
- Garvin - Mars Program Planning Group
- Green - Planetary Science Division Update
- JPL - InSight
- Kminek - ESA planetary protection activities
- Stabekis - Mars Science Laboratory lessons learned
Supporting Documents
- Planetary Protection and Contamination Control Report 2011
- ESF Mars Sample Return backward contamination study
May 2012
- Agenda
- Minutes
- ESF Study DRAFT Conclusions - Gerhard Kminek
- Hayabusa-2 - Hajime Yano
- HEOMD Strategic Knowledge Gaps - Mike Wargo
- Life Detection Workshop - Conley and Kminek
- Mars Briefing - Doug McCuistion
- MSL Lessons Learned - Karen Buxbaum
- NASA Planetary Protection Status - Catharine Conley
- NRC Planetary Protection for Icy Solar System Bodies - Geoff Collins
- OCT - Prasun Desai
- OSIRIS-REx - Jason Dworkin
Support Documents
- 2010 NASA request to NRC for study
- COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy (v3-24-11)
- NASA Planetary Protection NPD_8020_007G
- NRC icy bodies prepub report
- NRC report transmittal memo
- NRC review of NASA technology roadmaps
November 2011
May 2011
January 2011
August 2010
May 2010
November 2008
January 2008
February 2007
July 2006
Documents on this page have been submitted for 508 compliance tagging and will be replaced when the tagged files become available.