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We are currently facing a pandemic caused by COVID-19 virus. This is on Earth. But humans can contaminate other places in the Solar system with microbes from Earth. This is called Forward Contamination and is worrisome for places where there might already be life, like Europe, Enceladus, or Mars. The threat comes not only from human exploration, but also from robotic explorers on the surface. So while we deal with a pandemic on Earth, it is a good time to think about the dangers of our own microbes to other worlds as well.
By Salman HameedWe are currently facing a pandemic caused by COVID-19 virus. This is on Earth. But humans can contaminate other places in the Solar system with microbes from Earth. This is called Forward Contamination and is worrisome for places where there might already be life, like Europe, Enceladus, or Mars. The threat comes not only from human exploration, but also from robotic explorers on the surface. So while we deal with a pandemic on Earth, it is a good time to think about the dangers of our own microbes to other worlds as well.

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