The Committee on Space Research's (COSPAR) Planetary Protection Policy states that all types of missions to Venus are classified as Category II, as the planet has significant research interest relative to the processes of chemical evolution and the origin of life, but there is only a remote chance that terrestrial contamination can proliferate and compromise future investigations. "Remote chance" essentially implies the absence of environments where terrestrial organisms could survive and replicate. Hence, Category II missions only require simplified planetary protection documentation, including a planetary protection plan that outlines the intended or potential impact targets, brief Pre- and Post-launch analyses detailing impact strategies, and a Post-encounter and End-of-Mission Report. These requirements were applied in previous missions and are foreseen for the numerous new international missions planned for the exploration of Venus, which include NASA's VERITAS and DAVINCI missions, and ESA's EnVision mission. There are also several proposed missions including India's Shukrayaan-1, and Russia's Venera-D. These multiple plans for spacecraft coincide with a recent interest within the scientific community regarding the cloud layers of Venus, which have been suggested by some to be habitable environments. The proposed, privately funded, MIT/Rocket Lab Venus Life Finder mission is specifically designed to assess the habitability of the Venusian clouds and to search for signs of life. It includes up to three atmospheric probes, the first one targeting a launch in 2023. The COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection evaluated scientific data that underpins the planetary protection requirements for Venus and the implications of this on the current policy. The Panel has done a thorough review of the current knowledge of the planet's conditions prevailing in the clouds. Based on the existing literature, we conclude that the environmental conditions within the Venusian clouds are orders of magnitude drier and more acidic than the tolerated survival limits of any known terrestrial extremophile organism. Because of this future orbital, landed or entry probe missions to Venus do not require extra planetary protection measures. This recommendation may be revised in the future if new observations or reanalysis of past data show any significant increment, of orders of magnitude, in the water content and the pH of the cloud layer.

María Paz Zorzano

Karen Olsson-Francis

Peter T. Doran

Petra Rettberg

Athena Coustenis

Vyacheslav Ilyin

Francois Raulin

Omar Al Shehhi

Frank Groen

Olivier Grasset

Akiko Nakamura

Olga Prieto Ballesteros

Silvio Sinibaldi

Yohey Suzuki

Praveen Kumar

Gerhard Kminek

Niklas Hedman

Masaki Fujimoto

Maxim Zaitsev

Alex Hayes

Jing Peng

Eleonora Ammannito

Christian Mustin

Kanyan Xu

Life Sciences in Space Research

空间研究中的生命科学在 COSPAR 的其他社会期刊“空间研究进展”的生命科学部分以前涵盖的领域发表高质量的原创研究和评论文章。空间研究中的生命科学拥有一个由空间辐射领域的顶级科学家组成的编辑团队并保证从提交到编辑决定的快速周转时间。

The journal "Life Sciences in Space Research" publishes high-quality original research and review articles in the field of life sciences related to space research. These areas were previously covered in the life sciences section of COSPAR's other societal journal, "Advances in Space Research." The journal boasts an editorial team composed of leading scientists in the field of space radiation, ensuring a rapid turnaround time from submission to editorial decision.

《Life Sciences in Space Research》期刊发表高质量的原创研究和评论文章，涵盖空间研究中的生命科学领域。这些领域以前在COSPAR的其他社会期刊《空间研究进展》的生命科学部分中有所涉及。期刊拥有一支由空间辐射领域顶尖科学家组成的编辑团队，确保从提交到编辑决定的快速周转时间。

The COSPAR planetary protection requirements for space missions to Venus

金星空间任务的COSPAR行星保护要求

Category	Quartile
生物学	3
生物学, 天文与天体物理	3
生物学, 生物学	3

The COSPAR planetary protection requirements for space missions to Venus

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