In the cold depths of space, something makes us deliberately destroy our own space probes. The Earth is filled with diverse life, but in the infinite Universe I want to believe that we are not alone. Observatories, satellites and spacecraft peer into distant space in order to detect signs of life on other planets.
What a life? Well, it would be interesting to find green men, but we will be happy with primitive bacteria. However, any of our space intelligence becomes a source of danger to alien life. Therefore, we did not find anything better than intentionally destroying the probes.
Forced suicide
Last year, our planet celebrated the final days of the Cassini mission. The probe’s 20-year existence ended when he ran out of fuel and was ordered to plunge into the deadly atmosphere of Saturn. Agree that the idea to destroy a ship worth $ 3.9 billion seems at least strange, but NASA has a good reason.
The fact is that a probe left in orbit risks easily getting lost. Even a small fragment rotating around Saturn at a speed of 110,000 km / h can accidentally destroy a future probe. Moreover, the problem of space debris is already becoming catastrophic in the Earth’s orbit, so it is not worth spreading it throughout the solar system.
After a 10-year mission near Saturn, the Cassini probe received an order to destroy itself by plunging into the atmosphere of the planet.
But this is not aimless destruction. In the last minutes of the dive, the device actively collected valuable data. These are new photos of the rings and atmosphere of Saturn. Cassini first managed to explore the interior of Saturn. But this is not the only reason for suicide. Saturn’s companions Enceladus and Titan are considered promising for study, because they are capable of having the necessary conditions for the formation of life. But earth probes transport bacteria and can infect other worlds with them. Then future research will not be able to prove exactly how life appeared on the planet or the moon (originated on the spot or infected with the Earth).
How to clean the probe
NASA is trying to do everything possible to reduce the risk of infection of other planets. Before sending to deep space, the probes are placed in a sterile room. There they are immersed in a disinfectant, washed and frozen in cold plasma or bombarded with gamma rays. However, this does not help get rid of all possible bacteria (yes, some of them are incredibly tenacious!).
Probe after cleaning moves to protective film
Immersion in the gas giant
Cassini is not the only probe that was doomed. The Juno spacecraft near Jupiter is supposed to plunge into the atmosphere of a gas giant in 2022 to protect Europe’s satellite from possible pollution. Of course, it is sad to lose our equipment, the more Juno will literally be crushed and melted in the depths of the atmosphere of Jupiter. However, all these sacrifices will allow us to return to worlds with more advanced equipment and, possibly, to discover living organisms.
Spacecraft Juno will repeat the fate of Cassini
