Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42201312›Full record

ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2026

Mars sample return campaign: biological risk and a proposed sample safety assessment protocol.

G McDonnell, B L Teece, R Mackelprang, N Cressie, J R McQuiston, L E Mayhew, A Steele, S Siljeström, B M Ahern, N Baird and 15 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

G McDonnellJohnson & Johnson, Raritan, New Jersey, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0759-3518
B L TeeceJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
R MackelprangCalifornia State University, Northridge, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7213-7415
N CressieUniversity of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
J R McQuistonCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
L E MayhewUniversity of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
A SteeleCarnegie Institute for Science, Washington, DC, USA.
S SiljeströmRise Institutes of Sweden, Gothenburg, Sweden.
B M AhernDepartment of Defense, Washington, DC, USA.
N BairdCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
R E DavisTexas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA.
K L FrenchU.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, USA.
M GlamoclijaRutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
H GrahamNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA.
K B HummelCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
W PageJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
N PearceLondon School of Hygiene, London, United Kingdom.
A RegbergNASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
D RelmanStanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
M A SephtonImperial College, London, United Kingdom.
B Sherwood LollarUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
J VanhomwegenInstitut Pasteur, Paris, France.
M B WilhelmNASA AMES Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA.
B ShireyJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
D W BeatyJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Returning surface samples from Mars to Earth has been a major planetary science objective, with the potential for the detection of microbiological life and the possibility of improving our understanding of the origins of life. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency assembled a team to assess the level of risk that returned samples could contain potential biohazards. The team was chartered with optimizing previous sample safety assessment strategies, defining what constitutes a biological hazard, developing a protocol to test for biohazards, and establishing a statistical framework to determine if samples may be safe for release from a high-containment facility. This report presents the biological context for a proposed three-step protocol for testing returned samples, including how to determine if microorganisms are present, and if they could be (or were recently) alive.

Indexed as

Containment of BiohazardsExobiologyExtraterrestrial EnvironmentMarsRisk AssessmentUnited Statesastrobiologybiohazardlife detectionspace travel

Identifiers

PMID42201312
PMCPMC13274341

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.