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Applying Invasion Science to Prevent Biological Contamination from Space Travel

posted by janrinok on Wednesday November 24 2021, @03:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the Andromeda-Strain dept.

upstart writes:

Space Biosecurity: Scientists Warn that Alien Organisms on Earth May Become a Reality Stranger than Fiction:

Scientists warn, without good biosecurity measures 'alien organisms' on Earth may become a reality stranger than fiction.

Published in international journal BioSciences, a team of scientists, including Dr. Phill Cassey, Head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Adelaide, are calling for greater recognition of the biosecurity risks ahead of the space industry.

"In addition to government-led space missions, the arrival of private companies such as SpaceX has meant there are now more players in space exploration than ever before," said Associate Professor Cassey.

"We need to take action now to mitigate those risks."

Space biosecurity concerns itself with both the transfer of organisms from Earth to space (forward contamination) and vice-versa (backward contamination). While the research points out that at present the risk of alien organisms surviving the journey is low, it's not impossible.

Dr. Cassey said: "Risks that have low probability of occurrence, but have the potential for extreme consequences, are at the heart of biosecurity management. Because when things go wrong, they go really wrong."

Journal Reference:
Anthony Ricciardi, Phillip Cassey, Stefan Leuko, et al. Planetary Biosecurity: Applying Invasion Science to Prevent Biological Contamination from Space Travel, BioScience (DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab115)

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday November 24 2021, @06:26PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 24 2021, @06:26PM (#1199258) Journal

    For those who didn't see the TV show in the 1960's, Bruce Wayne (and his youthful ward Dick Grayson) were Incels.

    In one particular episode where it is necessary to temporarily set up a batcave in the UK in order to catch Lord Fogg, they fail to make mention of having to adapt the Bat Computer for 240 VAC.

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  • (Score: 2) by pdfernhout on Friday November 26 2021, @04:59PM

    by pdfernhout (5984) on Friday November 26 2021, @04:59PM (#1199792) Homepage

    Maybe the Dynamic Duo brought over a portable nuclear generator to power the Bat computer?
    https://newatlas.com/energy/radiant-portable-advanced-nuclear/ [newatlas.com]
    "California company Radiant has secured funding to develop a compact, portable, "low-cost" one-megawatt nuclear micro-reactor that fits in a shipping container, powers about 1,000 homes and uses a helium coolant instead of water."

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    The biggest challenge of the 21st century: the irony of technologies of abundance used by scarcity-minded people.