The problem of planetary protection will become far more important in space exploration in 2020.

Scientists, particularly astrobiologists, are keen to search for evidence of extinct or extant life on other bodies within our solar system: in the salty oceans, for example, beneath the ice-covered moons of Europa (orbiting Jupiter) and Enceladus (orbiting Saturn). They’re also searching the surface of Mars (and below it), where it is now believed that liquid water has been preserved.