Rock Samples From Mars Might Bring New Viruses To Earth
Coronavirus has been a massive concern over the last few months, and scientists warn that more devastating viruses could be on the way.
According to the New York Post, scientists are preparing for more viruses that may come our way. They explain, “Researchers say that when humans return from a planned visit to Mars in the 2030s, they’ll have to quarantine because rock samples from the Red Planet could be as dangerous as Ebola.” They also add that even if the likelihood of this happening is low, precautions are still being made. “Rockets returning from Mars will have to undergo a chemical cleaning involving intense heat as well.”
Scott Hubbard, Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics, explains that “planetary protection” must be made when anything comes back from Mars. He says, “In my opinion, and that of the science community, the chance that rocks from Mars that are millions of years old will contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low.” He also adds, “But the [Mars] samples returned by [NASA] will be quarantined and treated as though they are the Ebola virus until proven safe.”
