Geological and biological processes have eliminated all but the faintest traces of our earliest ancestors on Earth. To understand the origin of life, we must investigate other planets — but we can find what we seek only if we do not contaminate them with Earth life first.
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Conley, C., Rummel, J. Appropriate protection of Mars. Nature Geosci 6, 587–588 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1908
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1908
