Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2019

A rendering of the Gliese 667C system as seen from planet "d" (background image) and of Scholz’s Star (right). Consid- ered as possible cradles of extra- terrestrial life, the red dwarf’s planets might not be at all. [ESO/M. Korn- messer, T. Reyes] ASTROBIOLOGY 5 ject rotection MARCH-APRIL 2019 ronment. The same proce- dure is implemented when space missions contemplate the return to Earth of sam- ples taken from other celes- tial bodies. At first glance, all these precautions may ap- pear excessive, as the exis- tence of extraterrestrial life on the celestial bodies we are now able to reach is very unlikely. However remote the probability of biological contamination is, we cannot