NASA Engineer Discusses How She Is Protecting The Earth From “Alien Contamination” While Exploring The Galaxy
In perhaps one of the most shocking Talks At Google yet, NASA scientist Dr. Moogega Cooper discussed her role in protecting our planet from “alien contamination.”
Dubbed “a real-life guardian of the galaxy,” Dr. Cooper earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at only twenty-four years old. Now, she is working as a planetary protection engineer for NASA’s Mars mission.
In this role, Dr. Cooper’s main objective is to prevent both spacecrafts and astronauts from participating in two-way contamination.
“First, when we are sending out spacecrafts, rovers, orbiters– whatever it may be– beyond our own planet to either another planet, moon, or asteroid that may harbor life, it is my goal and the team’s goal to make sure that we do not send our Earth germs to those locations, especially when we are trying to search for life,” Dr. Cooper explained.
Similarly, Dr. Cooper and her team must also prevent the introduction of foreign germs on Earth.
“One day, we hope to bring samples back to our own planet, and we have to have that same consideration. When you bring something back, you do not want to bring something that may be harmful to humans,” Dr. Cooper said.
Interestingly, NASA scientists must be very considerate of germs when constructing spacecrafts. Dr. Cooper described how astronomical amounts of contaminates can enter a spacecraft and cause harm in the greater galaxy.
Thus, while constructing such vessels, all crew involved must wear special garments to protect against contamination.
YouTube; pictured above is Dr. Cooper
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Similar to scrub rooms in a hospital OR, “clean rooms” are also utilized. These rooms use air filtration to lower germ concentration.
According to Dr. Cooper, though, the NASA team can never be too safe. She and other scientists regularly swab all vessels to ensure cleanliness and decontamination.
And in terms of protecting Earth, Dr. Cooper and NASA scientists base the “potentially dangerous” contaminants that could be tracked back to Earth on the most detrimental germs to human life.
“We only know life as we know it. So, we use the worst thing we can think of on our planet as the model for Martian life,” Dr. Cooper said.
Currently, that “worst thing” is prions. According to the CDC, Prion diseases are “a family of rare progressive neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals.”
The most famous disease caused by prions on Earth is mad cow disease.
By preparing for all worst-case scenarios, Dr. Cooper and the rest of her team at NASA hope to ensure public health and safety even as we investigate and discover other forms of life.
To hear more about Dr. Cooper’s compelling work, visit her Talk At Google linked here.
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