BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An Indiana University astrobiologist has been named to a NASA position responsible for protecting the planet from microscopic threats originating on other planets.

View print quality image Lisa Pratt. Photo by Anna Powell Teeter

Lisa Pratt, Provost Professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been named the planetary protection officer at NASA. The position is responsible for the protection of Earth from potential contamination by extraterrestrial life forms, including potential microorganisms that could live in the ice or groundwater of Mars, as well as preventing accidental transportation of Earth's microbes to other planets through exploratory probes -- or the boots of astronauts. "I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to the mission of planetary protection at a defining moment in human evolution and the advancement of science," said Pratt, who also serves as associate executive dean in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. "We are on the verge of becoming a spacefaring species, and I feel privileged to be invited into an extraordinary conversation, pushing the frontiers of science, exploration and discovery at NASA. This position plays a direct role in seeking evidence to address a profound question: Are we alone?" The position of planetary protection officer, within NASA's Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Authority, serves as a contact point between NASA and international groups such as the Committee on Space Research on issues related to planetary protection, as well as the development and implementation of planetary protection policies within the agency. "NASA, along with the National Science Foundation, has supported Lisa's work on biogeochemical research on microbial transformation of simple inorganic molecules for the past two decades," said Frank Groen, director of the safety assurance requirements division of NASA's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. "As NASA's planetary protection officer, she will be responsible for the leadership of NASA's planetary protection capability, maintenance of planetary protection policies and oversight of their implementation by NASA's space flight missions." Pratt has been a member of the IU faculty since 1987, where her research focuses on understanding how microorganisms adapt to extreme environments. This requires the in-person collection of pristine samples from poisonous-gas-filled waters in extremely hot and cold environments.

Description of the following video: Lisa Pratt Final Video Transcript [MUSIC] [Video: Professor emeritus Lisa Pratt is interviewed about her new role as NASA's planetary protection officer] [Pratt Speaks: It seems to me, that the most important question we as human beings could ever answer is "Are we alone?"] [Video: NASA footage of astronauts in space, the Mars rover and outer space images of Earth are shown. [Pratt speaks: Do we know enough about the possibility of present day life on Mars to safely take astronauts there?] [Video: More footage of outer space.] [Pratt speaks: have a burden, a burden of responsibility] [Video: Video footage of scientists working in labs and at NASA are shown] [Pratt speaks: to figure out how we collaborate with all the other nations and individuals who are capable of reaching Mars to ensure that we understand what's there before we bring bits and pieces or intact spores of Earth organisms to Mars and inadvertently inoculate a habitable planet.] [Video: Pratt is shown on video] [Pratt speaks: During my time at IU, there are two things that I am most proud of. One is the recognition that there was a complex eco system in these very, very deep, hot fluids in South Africa] [Video: Image of Pratt and a colleague wearing hard helmets underground. Video of hot water fluids] [Video: Pratt is shown on video] [Pratt speaks: That then led to the realization that Earth is unusually hot in the subsurface, and if we're interested in Mars, Mars is a much colder planet.] [Video: Footage of Pratt with colleagues working underground wearing hard helmets. Video footage of Mars] [Pratt speaks: We then proposed similar work in deep mines in the Canadian Arctic.] [Video: Image of Pratt and colleagues in the field. Image of Pratt drilling holes into the surface.] Video: Pratt is shown on video] Pratt speaks: That was a real turning point for me because that research was closely coupled to things that NASA wanted to know. That was sort of the critical moment when my career shifted to the exploration for life in places on Earth where people really hadn't done much looking.] [Video: Pratt walks down the hall into a lab putting on purple gloves. Pratt is working with lab materials. Blue liquid in a test tube is being used in an experiment.] [Video: Image of Pratt working with a colleague on rock surface.] [Pratt speaks: The other thing I'm most proud of is the field campaign in Greenland right on the margin of the Greenland ice sheet.] [Video: Image of Pratt working on the Greenland ice sheet] [Pratt speaks: I am so excited about the opportunity to be in the room when the decision-making conversations are taking place. To be actively participating in thinking about what are our rights and responsibilities at the moment in time when humans become space faring] [Video: Pratt works with post-graduate student in the lab conducting an experiment] [Pratt speaks: Well the good thing for me is I still have graduate students completing their doctoral dissertations. Bloomington is home and I have no intention of that changing. [Pratt works with student on an experiment in lab] [Video: Pratt is shown in her office.] [Pratt speaks: I see myself as being a very active emeritus faculty member and having very strong ties here for the foreseeable future.] [MUSIC] [Video: The Indiana University trident appears] [Words appear: Indiana University] [Words appear: Fulfilling the Promise] [Words appear: iu.edu]