| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Astrobiology, as its prefix suggests, is inextricably linked to space exploration. From the onset of the space age, space agencies discovered the need to take into account the question of protection: protection of planetary bodies; protection of the samples brought back from space; protection of spaceflight crews; and the extent to which spaceflight crew members should be treated as samples. Astrobiology also provides for the renaissance of space exploration and serves as a manner for our societies to confront a fundamental unknown of the cosmos: how we can prepare for encountering extraterrestrial life forms.
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