EXCLUSIVE: NASA’s chief medical officer has exclusively told the Daily Star that he believes there is ‘a risk’ of Mars based pathogens being brought back to earth, and warned that ‘due dilligence’ was needed
17:00, 08 Mar 2026Updated 17:00, 08 Mar 2026
The NASA chief admitted there was some risk of Mars-based pathogens(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
NASA believes there is ‘a risk’ of their astronauts catching alien diseases and bringing them back to Earth, the space agency’s chief medical officer revealed exclusively to the Daily Star.
Speaking exclusively to the Star this week, Dr JD Polk admitted that NASA was “absolutely” concerned with the possibility of extraterrestrial bacteria and viruses returning to Earth from outer space, but emphasised that they would do their best “guard against” these risks during any future missions to Mars.
Dr Polk, who is served as NASA’s most senior health figure for over a decade, explained exactly how he and his colleagues hoped to keep their astronauts, as well as us on Earth, safe from extraterrestrial pathogens.
The Daily Star caught up with Dr JD Polk at the Space-comm Expo in London this week(Image: Getty Images)
“We have a planetary protection plan and a planetary protection officer. When we bring specimens back, like soil from Mars, we treat it much like you would treat anthrax…we use all of the same safeguards.”
It’s not just specimens from space that NASA need to be careful of, added Dr Polk, explaining to the Star that the astronauts themselves go through a meticulous quarantine.
“The astronauts… have 100s of bacteria and viruses… in their guts. We know that because of changes in microgravity and radiation that bacteria and viruses morph…like the Covid bacteria [while in space].
Mars(Image: Getty Images)
“Because of that we swab [the astronauts]….and put them in quarantine to make sure they’re not exposing that to the rest of the public.”
While Dr Polk was keen to emphasise he thought the risks of a global pandemic caused by a Martian bacteria or virus were small, he explained why it was important to be careful anyway.
“NASA doesn’t want to be the one who brought this thing back and it causes a pandemic”, he said.
Although clearly keen to emphasise just how careful NASA were when it comes to diseases from outer space, he did admit some concerns over whether similar “due diligence” would be seen from new commercial space companies.
Dr Polk questioned whether commercial space companies like Elon Musk’s Space X would neccessarily follow the same protocols(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“Imagine when commercial [space] flights come in. Will Elon [Musk] have that same thought process? I don’t know. The regulatory environment needs to catch up with the speed things are going.”
Elon Musk’s company SpaceX has invested billions into rocket and satellite technology, and the controversial billionaire has made his desire to put a man on Mars no secret.
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