Planning the Mars Sample Receiving Facility: Biohazards, Societal Issues and Risk Communication

NASA will someday need to design and construct a sample receiving facility (SRF) in preparation for handling and testing extraterrestrial materials returned to Earth by spacecraft returning from Mars. Because the core design elements of an SRF will include a high level biocontainment lab, it is possible that many questions about risks will arise during the public review process, regardless where it is eventually built. This paper summarizes recent research on relevant experiences during the construction of multiple high-level biocontainment labs, and discusses the types of issues and concerns likely to arise in the context of a future SRF, including planetary protection requirements, uncertainty about extraterrestrial biohazards, and the mandatory public review process. Among the key lessons learned from earlier research are the importance of developing trust, maintaining transparency about information, complying with all procedural requirements for public review of the project, implementing comprehensive pro-active risk communication at the earliest stages of the project, and continuing open communications even after operations begin at the SRF. While science and technology will be central to any future sample return mission, NASA and its international partners must acknowledge the likelihood of intense public interest and concerns about how samples will be contained, handled and tested. Addressing these issues from the start will be an essential part of mission planning, and an important element for building public support for the mission. It also provides an unusual opportunity for education and outreach by sharing information on behind-the-scenes deliberations and real-time observations of the science involved with sample analysis.