Memo to: Wectex Comelcice February 22, 1950
From: 4. H. Horowite

Subject: Back-concaminetion and the gopls of spate biclosy.

The following paragraphs, representing my views on the above subject,
are based on & vecent exchenge of letters with Josh Lederberg. Your
reactions to these proposals would be helpful to Josh in connection with

coming SSP meetings. Plense send any comments to Josh, with a copy to me.

At the last Westex meeting, concern was expressed over the possibility
that veturning spacecraft might contominate the earth with dangerous micro-
organisms of extra-terrestrial origin. This vievpoiat is incorporated in the
draft version of the excellent paper presented ac Niece by Lederverg, copy
of which you have received. I heppen to disagree with this viewpoint. To
my Inind, 14+ is toth useless and harmful to recosmend a policy of embargo on
returning spacecraft. It is useless because the danger is negligible and
because, in any case, the embargo policy is not the correct vay to deal with
whatever hazard may exist. I% is harmful because this policy would defeat
what should be the primary goal of space biology: to obtain samples of the
lumar and planetary surfaces (unconteminated dy earch organisms) for examina
tion in terrestrial laboratories at the carliest possible moment.

The belief thet back-comtomination of the earth represents a real danger
rests on three improbable essumptions: (a) thet microorganisms will. be found
on the planets, (b) that they are dangerous to men, and tc} that we would be
unable to cope with thea i? they escaped. The pr oduct of these three terms
is, in wy opinion, so mich smaller then anything else we have to consider--
in particular, the danger of ovr contaminating the plensts--that it should
not be permitted to influence decisions regarding the timing of return
flights. As my colleague A. 4%. Sturtevant put it recently in a conversation,
it would make more sense to declare an embargo on materiel from the Antarctic.

Even granting the remote possibility of a hazard, is en emhargo policy
the correct way to deal with it? I think it is not. It is exceedingly doubt-~
ful that we would be able to recognize and eveluate--let alone learn how to
cope with--whatever harmful organisms may exist on the planets without actually
having them in our hands. Even under the best of conditions, telemetered
information from space probes vill not onsver all of our questions or remove
all cur doubts. We should recognize the fect that definitive informetion on
the biological composition of the lumar and planetary surfeces will come only
from laboratory studies of soil samples brougitt back from these bodies. If
we insist on pursuing an embargo policy until we are certain there is no risk,
then we shall never know whether there is a risk or not,
wa

Against: the slight hazard, ome mast weigh the potentviel benefits to mane
kind of unhamoered treific with the plencts. The present citustion een he
likened to that which obtained in Turope im the decade before Columbus set -
forth on his voyage of discovery. If men had known then thot Columbus vould
bring back with him 2 disesse--syphilis-~that was to plegue Europe fox centuries,
they might bave provented him from ever leaving Seain. Suppose, however, that
they hac mown elso of the benefits thas vere to floy from the discovrery of
the New World. Can there be any Goubt what tkeig decision would heve been then?

For the above veasons, it would be inadvisable, in my opinion, to adopt
& position--c.g., &2 embarge on returning spacecraft--vhich might prejudice
the development of the nocessazxy technology for vetuxn flights. Alge to be
consideved is the probably deleterious effect on public opinion of en excessively
carrtious policy. (By thic I mean thst the public may be frightened outs of any
interest in space explorations). Rather, ve should recognize thet we will not -
obtain the kind of scientific information we vant about the chemical and
biclogiesal nature of the planctary and lunar ourfeces 1f we are not permitted
to bring back soil end dust samples. In my opinion, the procurement of sech
samples should be the primary govl of exobiological research. It should be
understood thet the biological exploration of the planets by instrumensed
peyloads is not & aubstitute for this primary objective, but is only a
temporary measure for obtcining some scientific infoxretion dering the period
before return flights are feasible,