Warning: planetary protection

WARNING! READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE DEPARTURE! Biological contamination reaching the surface from a spacecraft may significantly jeopardise future Mars research by destroying or changing surface life forms that might already exist. SPECIAL REGIONS Special Regions are surface environments in which terrestrial organisms are likely to reproduce. Any area suspected of containing existing Martian life is also a Special Region. Based on current knowledge of terrestrial organisms, these are surfaces or rock bodies with sufficient water activity and warm enough temperatures for reproduction. Liquid water may occur in some areas, but their locations are uncertain. Until proved otherwise, regions of uncertain status must be treated as Special Regions. Examples include methane sources; recurring slope lineae; gully-like channels and associated bright streaks; pasted-on terrain; caves, subsurface cavities and layers deeper than five metres; and other surface types still awaiting or undergoing study, such as dark slope streaks, potentially high-geothermal-energy areas, hydrothermally active craters, modern flood channels and sites of recent seismic activity. Maps […] must not be used to determine the precise locations of Special Regions. Regions of uncertain status within planned landing ellipses must be assessed individually during site selection. Organisations proposing to investigate regions that might meet these criteria must demonstrate […] whether their proposed landing sites are Special Regions. Without specific information, no region can currently be identified as a Special Region on the basis of possible Martian life. Source cited in the book: Rettberg P. and colleagues, Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions, Space Studies Board, 2015.