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Scientists are preparing for a potential close encounter of the viral kind. Researchers say that when humans return from a planned visit to Mars in the 2030s, they’ll have to quarantine because rock samples from the Red Planet could be as dangerous as Ebola — even if the likelihood they are is low. Rockets returning from Mars will have to undergo a chemical cleaning involving intense heat as well.

Mission to Martian moon is the country's first interplanetary attempt since 1996. Eric Hand 04 November 2011 Main Phobos, as seen in 2008 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Article tools Print Email Rights and Permissions Share/bookmark For the first time in 15 years, Russia is getting back into the business of interplanetary space science. It plans to launch an ambitious mission on 8 November to return a sample of soil from the Martian moon Phobos. The Phobos–Grunt mission (which means Phobos-soil) would welcome Russia back to the elite group of nations — the United States, Japan and...