Comparison of Sterilization Alternatives for a Sample Return Mission

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Engineering, 2019-20

Liaison(s): Todd Paulos ’90
Advisor(s): Erik Spjut
Students(s): Danielle Michaud (TL-S), Tim Player (TL-F), Michael Guzman, Natalie Krieger (S), Aarthi Namasivayam (S), Kevin Proudfoot (F)

The NASA/JPL Clinic team is part of a probabilistic risk assessment process for future sample return missions. The team is responsible for compiling a list of threats that could be brought back to the Earth from an extraterrestrial body, finding ways of mitigating those threats and assessing the efficiency of neutralization modalities. The team is also building an understanding of the independence of biological sterilization techniques and delineating steps for future teams on this project.