Evolution of the planetary protection policy: conflict of science and jurisprudence? Original Research Article

The policy of protecting pristine celestial environments is accepted with virtual unanimity, and has been incorporated into positive international law. Originally phrased by the scientific community in terms of planetary quarantine requirements, the implementation of the strictures of planetary protection have been drastically relaxed over the years for most bodies within the solar system, which now are deemed to be of little or no biological or chemical interest in regard to the search for the origins of life. However, the jurisprudential considerations which underlie the planetary protection policy do not necessarily recognize the same scientific distinctions and assumptions which have provided the rationalization for the reduced application of active planetary protection mechanisms. This paper examines the potential for conflict between the scientific and jurisprudential considerations of planetary protection.