Elon Musk: SpaceX plans for Mars put alien life and NASA astronauts at risk, says expert

The SpaceX CEO hopes humans will land on Mars by 2024 in their Starship rocket which will reach the Red planet and then return to Earth. It comes as Mr Musk faces criticism from NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine for taking too long to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). After voicing his opinion online, Mr Bridenstine will visit the SpaceX HQ to see what is going on.

Ms Rolfe wrote on The Conservation: “There is a risk that microbe-ridden humans walking on the red planet could contaminate it with bugs from Earth.

“Contamination may threaten alien organisms, if they exist.

“It may also make it impossible to figure out whether any microbes found on Mars later on are martian or terrestrial in origin.

“A mission to return samples from Mars to Earth is expected to be completed by the early 2030s, with all the collection work completed by sterilised robots.

“While such missions pose a certain risk of



contamination too, there are rigorous protocols to help minimise the chance.”

Ms Rolfe went on to ask whether corners won’t be cut in such a short time frame that standards might slip.

She added: “If SpaceX was serious about planetary protection, I would expect to see a policy on its website, or easily found by searching ‘SpaceX planetary protection’.

“But that isn't the case. So while it is possible that it has a rigorous planetary protection plan in place behind the scenes, its public-facing content seems to suggest that pushing the boundaries of human exploration is more important than the consequences of that exploration.”

She went on to say sending humans to Mars risks injuring astronauts and damaging the environment.

It comes as Mr Musk has been accused of being “years behind schedule”.

SpaceX was awarded a multi-billion dollar contract by NASA to build a spacecraft which would take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) back in 2014.

Several delays, including an explosion during a ground test of the Dragon Crew capsule back in July, have set SpaceX back.