Extraterrestrial Life | New Space Economy

Infographic explaining viral structure, competing origin hypotheses, a timeline from early life through animals, mechanisms of viral evolution, and the roles of viruses in genes, ecosystems, and biological history.

HOW VIRUSES EMERGED AND EVOLVED ON EARTH

Infographic describing forward and back contamination risks, the organizations and professionals responsible for managing them, and the controls used from mission planning through reporting.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANETARY PROTECTION?

An infographic maps an 11-stage sample-return mission and explains contamination risks, safeguards, facility controls, protected objectives, and response steps for failures.

WHERE ARE THE CONTAMINATION RISKS IN A SAMPLE-RETURN MISSION?

Educational infographic explaining that unfamiliar life could be investigated through functions such as metabolism, growth, replication, adaptation, and organized complexity, using laboratory and environmental analysis tools while accounting for false positives and contamination.

HOW WOULD WE DETECT LIFE THAT DOES NOT USE DNA?

Infographic explaining how pathogen traits and public-health conditions influence disease spread, severity, detection, and control.

WHAT MAKES A PATHOGEN DANGEROUS?

Infographic outlining a hypothetical seven-stage response to an unknown extraterrestrial biological hazard, from securing an area and assessing exposure through containment, laboratory investigation, public-health action, and planetary-protection safeguards.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AFTER A SUSPECTED EXTRATERRESTRIAL BIOLOGICAL RELEASE?

Infographic summarizes how biofilms form and spread in space habitats, the conditions that may encourage growth, possible effects on crew health and life-support systems, and risk-reduction practices.

WHAT ARE BIOFILMS, AND WHY ARE THEY A PROBLEM IN SPACE?

Infographic explaining that public fear of pathogens associated with space can be influenced by uncertainty, lack of control, invisible microbes, worst-case thinking, fiction and media, pandemic memories, confusion between possibility and probability, and distrust of institutions; it recommends transparency, trusted communication, evidence, preparedness, and scientific literacy.

WHY ARE PEOPLE AFRAID OF PATHOGENS FROM SPACE?

Educational infographic summarizing how spaceflight conditions may alter microbial communities in the human body, the body sites and health effects involved, how researchers study the changes, ways crews support microbial health, and what remains unknown.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HUMAN MICROBIOME IN SPACE?

Infographic listing ten measures for managing dangerous biological materials, including regulation, risk assessment, containment, training, monitoring, transport, and waste treatment.

HOW ARE DANGEROUS BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS MANAGED ON EARTH?