Planetary Protection Implementation on the InSight Mission

The InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) Mars flight system is made up of a cruise stage; an aeroshell; a backshell and parachute cone, as well as a Phoenix heritage-based lander that successfully landed in the Elysium Planitia on November 26, 2018. InSight has primary science objectives aimed to understand more about the interior of Mars and the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets. As with previous Mars missions, InSight was required to satisfy bioburden requirements and verify compliance with international treaty obligations and NASA requirements prior to launch. InSight implemented a series of policies and procedures to minimize biological risk and comply with all applicable requirements for a Planetary Protection Category IVa mission. At launch, InSight had an estimated total bacterial spore burden of 1.50 x 105 spores on the entire spacecraft, including the cruise stage, satisfying the requirement of 5 x 105 spores. The landed hardware components required less than 3 x 105 spores and a bioburden density of less than 300 spore/m2. At launch, the landed hardware of InSight contained an estimated total spore bioburden of 1.35 x 105 spores and an estimated bioburden density of 129 spores/m2.