User:Wikcadam/sandbox/Planetary protection officer

= Planetary protection officer = A planetary protection officer (PPO) is the leading position in the planetary protection branch of NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). They are responsible for establishing the standards of sterilization for spacecraft components as well as the permitted degree of interaction between spacecraft instruments and the physical environments of other bodies in the solar system. These parameters are derived from NASA's established planetary protection requirements in compliance with international policy for planetary protection as dictated by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

History
In 1967, The United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed the international Outer Space Treaty. Article IX of the treaty dictates that all associated state parties must make appropriate efforts to avoid the contamination of celestial bodies. NASA policies 8020.7G and 8020.12D were established in compliance with the terms of the treaty, placing responsibility for applying planetary protection policy onto the associate administrator for space science, who then delegates to a Planetary Protection Officer.

Known PPOs
John Rummel


 * John Rummel is a marine biologist and former member of the NASA Advisory Council's Planetary Protection Subcommittee. He served two terms as Planetary Protection Officer, once from 1986 to 1993, and again from 1999 to 2006.

Catharine Conley


 * Initially a research scientist with the NASA Ames Research Center, Catharine Conley became NASA's Planetary Protection Officer in 2006. When the Planetary Protection Office relocated in 2017 the job was opened to competition and Conley was replaced with Lisa Pratt.

Lisa Pratt


 * Lisa Pratt is an astrobiologist at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. NASA appointed her as Planetary Protection Officer in 2018 and she presently maintains the position.

Planetary protection
The term 'planetary protection' refers to the efforts of NASA and other space agencies to avoid contaminating other bodies in the solar system with organisms or organic material from Earth which may settle on the components of spacecraft bound for those bodies. This also includes similar efforts to prevent materials from other bodies, which may find their way onto a spacecraft during its mission, from contaminating the Earth.

Policies
NPD (NASA Policy Directive) 8020.7G


 * Compliant with the planetary protection policies of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, this directive officially states that measures must be taken to mitigate organic contamination of spacecraft bound for other solar system bodies.

NPR (NASA Procedural Requirements) 8020.12D


 * This document details the specific standards a spacecraft must meet to satisfy planetary protection requirements as well as the necessary steps to be taken in the event that contamination of either Earth or another solar body becomes a possibility.

Duties
A Planetary Protection Officer is responsible for upholding NASA's planetary protection policies and ensuring that all planned space flight missions follow them. They must act as an advisor to all matters involving planetary protection, including interacting with other organizations that share similar interests.

Qualifications
Planetary Protection Officers must have extensive, demonstrable knowledge of planetary protection, as well as advanced engineering and technical expertise, and skills in diplomacy and making rational decisions in stressful or complex situations.