Westex 5 - C February 19, 1959

Subject: Communication from Aaron Novick

Norm Horowitz' memo and letter of February 6 regarding the problems of
back contamination and the goals of exobiological research demand comment.
Since | will be unable to attend the coming Westex meeting, | would like
to communicate my reactions to you.

The principal fault 1 find with Norm's statement is that he considers
as a scientific problem a problem which is properly the concern of all. The
decisions regarding what risks should be run in the face cf the threat of
back contamination are decistons not to be made by the scientific community
alone but are decisions that must be made by the public at large. To act
otherwise is to be irresponsible.

in the case of the problem of contaminating other planets with earth
life, most people apparently believe that this is largely a scientific
problem. ‘Contaminating a planet would be a scientific catastrophe and
would otherwise not affect mankind. Back contamination as we agree poses
a threat to everyone. Admittedly the probability of back contamination
with catastrophic consequences is very small indeed, but quite possibly
the product of this small probability times the measure of all possible
catastrophes is finite.

Certainly one of the early goals of exobiology is to analyze the
materials on the surfaces of the nearby planets. But when Norm speaks
of subordinating all other aspects of the program to this objective,
he confuses me. There are many other ways of getting information about
the nature of the surfaces of the planets which must be considered. Al}
of these programs must be examined in the light df the restrictions which
face us. These restrictions are not only technical; our soclety necessarily
places restrictions upon us, if only to protect its own welfare.

Our duty is to acquaint the public as well as we can with our knowledge
and our opinions so that a democratic decision can be made. Society weighs
the gains from our program versus the costs, expressed in risks as well
as in dollars. Hence, a primary objective of exobiological research is
to develop the facts regarding the possibilitles of back contamination.

We must make as imaginative a study as possible of the hazards and
search for the information necessary for the public to have a responsible
basis for a desision. An immediate order of business is the planning
of such a study, leading to the design of specific experiments.

The analogy to Columbus, like most analogies, only creates confusion.
Perhaps | enlarge upon this confusion, but It Is not inconceivable -- witness
the myxoma virus in the rabbit population in Australia <-- that syphilis might
have erased pretty much all of the population of Europe. Had this occurred,
it would be agreed that restraint of Columbus would have been a good idea.

A few experiments might have led to a successful scheme for excluding the
disease. Alternatively, it might have been worthwhile to wait until
Fleming's discovery of penicillin.