Tiny life forms tucked into debris from an asteroid hit could catapult to other planets—including Earth—and survive, a new ...

The Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP) monitors progress implementing the planetary protection guidelines associated with priority programs and missions identified in the National Academies ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. More than 50 years after Neil Armstrong first walked on the Moon, space exploration has become almost commonplace. The record for ...

HOUSTON—The concept of planetary protection—the prevention of life forms on other planets from infecting Earth and preventing terrestrial life forms from contaminating other worlds—has a long history.

With an increasing number of space missions targeting various celestial bodies, including Mars, Europa, and the Moon, the importance of maintaining the integrity of these environments while protecting ...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking to hire its first-ever Planetary Protection Officer to protect against any alien life that might hitch a ride back to Earth on one ...

What are the chances that aliens would visit? Andromeda, pictured here, is our nearest galaxy. There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies – and 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the ...

Protecting planets from extraterrestrial invasion might sound like a job that only exists in science fiction. But NASA recently posted a "Help Wanted" ad for exactly this position, under the name ...