REVISTA & ESCOLAS DE MISTÉRIOS

  The U.S. Extraterrestrial Exposure Regulation: Biosafety, Contamination, and the Risks of Contact with Unknown Intelligences Introduction Since the beginning of the Space Age, governments, scientists, and military planners have been forced to confront a problem that had never before existed in human history: the possibility of biological contamination originating from outer space. The arrival of the Apollo program, which would send astronauts to the Moon and bring them back to Earth, raised legitimate concerns about unknown microorganisms, exotic biological agents, or other forms of contamination that could potentially affect Earth's biosphere. Within this context, the United States established a regulation in 1969 known as "Extraterrestrial Exposure," incorporated into Title 14 of NASA's Code of Federal Regulations. The rule authorized quarantine measures for individuals, animals, objects, and materials considered potentially exposed to extraterrestrial enviro...