September 28, 2023
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: OSC File Nos. DI‐21‐000239 and DI‐21‐000325
Dear Mr. President:
I am forwarding to you reports transmitted to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) by theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in response to the Special Counsel’sreferral of disclosures of wrongdoing by employees at NASA, Washington, D.C. The
whistleblowers, Senior Astrobiologist, who consented to the release of her
name, and an anonymous whistleblower, alleged that NASA officials failed to implement
required planetary protection protocols for the Mars 2020 mission (Mars 2020). I havereviewed the disclosures, reports, and whistleblowers’ comments, and in accordance with 5U.S.C. § 1213(e), have determined that the reports contain the information required by statuteand the findings appear reasonable.1 The following is a summary of those findings.
The Allegations
The whistleblowers explained that Mars 2020’s primary goal is to land the Perseverance
Rover on Mars, explore the planet, seek signs of life, collect samples, and return those samples
to Earth on the second leg of the mission. The Perseverance Rover landed on Mars on February
18, 2021.
explained that Mars 2020 is being run by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL)—which is federally funded through NASA—but managed by the California Institute ofTechnology.
alleged that JPL successfully pressured NASA to alter planetary
protection policies and committees to make hardware cleanliness requirements less stringent.
Further,
alleged that the Perseverance Rover failed to meet surface cleanliness
requirements, did not apply any cleanliness standards to the Ingenuity helicopter, and utilized
test tubes that failed testing, in violation of NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 8020.12D
and the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
explained that clean hardware prevents
1The allegations were referred to Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk for investigation pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §1213(c) and (d). Chief of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division Eileen Stansbury conducted
the investigation. Chief Resilience Officer Melanie Saunders was delegated authority to review and sign thereports.

The President
September 28, 2023
Page 2 of 4
contamination of outer space with biological and organic material from Earth and ensures aclean environment for scientists to identify and contain potentially harmful biological or organic
material that is obtained from outer space. The anonymous whistleblower also alleged that thehexane wash used to clean the Perseverance Rover’s sample caching system was ineffective forsuch use.
The Agency Report
1. The agency found that changes to Mars 2020 planetary protection policies andcommittees were reasonable and appropriate.
The investigation confirmed that there were changes to planetary protection policiesand committees for Mars 2020. The reports explained that prior to July 2017, the Office ofPlanetary Protection (OPP) held both operational and regulatory responsibilities for planetaryscience issues. Due to “the ambiguity of returning cached samples,” OPP and JPL officials
disagreed about the appropriate planetary protection standards. Ultimately, when NASA
restructured OPP as a “technical authority” to provide regulatory guidance and approval, JPL
created a Planetary Protection Manager in charge of implementing operational requirements,
and both were subject to NASA’s standard conflict resolution procedures. In 2015, Mars 2020
was categorized as Category V Restricted Earth Return (the most stringent planetary protectionstandard) due to the returnable sample caching system, in accordance with NPR 8020.12D.
However, in 2018, NASA approved a system deviation for the first leg of the mission thatchanged the hardware cleanliness requirements. Most notably, the requirement to meet totalorganic contamination level of potential regolith2 samples was permitted to exceed thebaseline, but not the threshold. The reports explained that the system deviation wasreasonable because “Martian environment conditions … contribute to clean, sterilize, anddisperse contaminants” and “transport analysis techniques were used to assess and quantify
biological cleanliness gradients.”
2. The agency did not substantiate that Mars 2020 failed to meet surface cleanliness
requirements, helicopter cleanliness requirements, or that it utilized hardware thatfailed testing.
The reports provided a detailed summary of NASA’s efforts to prevent organic
contamination of the rover’s various systems and stages during the mission. In sum, the agency
found that “Mars 2020 bioburden results are comparable to previous missions.” While theagency acknowledged that “there continues to exist room for improvement in generalcleanroom training and protocols, communication, and cross‐organization team dynamics,” thereports found “minimal evidence of erosion of planetary protection requirements or failure tooversee planetary protection testing for the Mars 2020 project.” No data was found to be out
2Regolith is a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock.

The President
September 28, 2023
Page 3 of 4of compliance during OPP’s independent bioburden validation prior to final installation of theIngenuity helicopter. However, the reports noted that only the blades of the helicopter weretested, rather than 10% of a representative surface area, as generally required by NPR
8020.12D. The investigation found certain sample tubes experienced cracks and sealing failuresduring testing. Although these sample tubes were replaced, the reports noted that theirreplacement may not have been communicated to OPP. Finally, the reports acknowledged thatthe first regolith sample was estimated to exceed the threshold total organic contamination
permitted under the system deviation. The reports explained that taking a second sample
shortly after the first decreases the total organic contamination below the threshold. The
reports further explained that the “failure to meet the baseline total organic does not present asignificant threat to planetary protection but potentially affects some Mars sample return
science.”
3. The agency did not substantiate that the hexane wash used to clean thePerseverance Rover’s sample caching system was ineffective.
The investigation found that hexane wash is an “extremely effective solvent” and wasonly used as a final high purity rinse of intimate hardware components of the sample cachingsystem. While the agency acknowledged that hexane is not effective in removal of fluorinatedgreases, that is not the purpose of the final high purity rinse. The reports explained that thesample caching system was cleaned and verified clean with various precision cleaning
procedures dependent on the specific component—including mechanical, aqueous, solvent,ultrasonic, and vapor degreasing processes.
The Whistleblowers’ Comments
The whistleblowers disagreed with the reports’ conclusions.
stated that NASAis ignoring serious concerns about potential Mars biohazards and the reports demonstrate thatNASA failed to ensure sufficiently low levels of Earth contamination or maintain detailed
records of Earth contamination possibly introduced into Mars samples.
expressed
frustration at NASA’s lax attitude about potential sources of contamination, especially given thelongstanding international agreements about planetary protection and prior mission failuresdue to excessive contamination.
also expressed concern that NASA has not proposed
sufficiently independent planetary protection oversight. The anonymous whistleblower
disagreed with the agency’s conclusion that hexane is an extremely effective solvent and notedthat use of hexane in connection with organic contamination measurements can produce false
negatives.
I thank the whistleblowers for bringing these allegations to OSC’s attention. As requiredby 5 U.S.C. § 1213(e)(3), I have sent a copy of this letter, agency report and whistleblower
comments to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

The President
September 28, 2023
Page 4 of 4I have also filed redacted versions of these documents and the redacted referral letter in ourPublic File, which is available at www.osc.gov. This matter is now closed.
Respectfully,

Henry J. KernerSpecial Counsel
Enclosures