It’s a real concern in both directions of travel as we set our minds to further missions to Mars and the Artemis program, space contamination could spell disaster not only for what lies preserved on the worlds of our solar system, but what these sample return missions (and crewed return missions) can bring back to Earth.

Don’t fear though, Dr Brad’s here to break it all down for us in this Talkin’ Science Story of the Week.

You can find us everywhere you are… grab Trekzone Podcasts on the go, search for us in your favourite app – we’re on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TunedIn, Stitcher and more! Clips of Trekzone podcasts are uploaded to social media too, find them on Facebook and Twitter and relive Trek episodes on Instagram. While we focus on producing quality audio podcasts, you can also catch our “enhanced visual edits” on our YouTube channel, in fact throughout 2020 there’ll be some filmed interviews as well – so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notifications about new episodes. While you’re here too, why not subscribe to our mailing list and get all the Trekzone articles – and a monthly recap – delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up on the right of this page.