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Are there international laws or agreements to prevent Mars being polluted with human corpses?
If there are, are they underpinned with possible sanction?

Isn't it appropriate to make a distinction between microbes and human bodies in those laws or rules?

For instance, it's possible that a future crewed Mars mission could involve dead human bodies.

This question is not about the policies of any private organization; the question is about international agreed laws or rules with the back up of possible sanctions.

uhoh
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Cornelis
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    Why would corpses on Mars be an issue? – Hobbes Apr 22 '18 at 11:10
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    As @Hobbes said, why do you think this is a problem? And why don't you think the existing agreements are enough? – Rory Alsop Apr 22 '18 at 11:17
  • @Hobbes Human corpses would pollute Mars with microbes. – Cornelis Apr 22 '18 at 12:01
  • @RoryAlsop That's what i ask. Are there existing agreements to prevent pollution this way. – Cornelis Apr 22 '18 at 12:03
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    I think your previous questions about contamination of solar system bodies are quite interesting, especially after you work on them a bit. But I think this one will be closed quickly. If you'd like to edit to re-open, why not first add some facts that you've learned from previous answers about any existing rules, laws, regulations or agreements as evidence of the prior research that it seems you have indeed done. Then you might explain that you'd like to find out if there is any possibility at all of protecting a planet from contamination from an extended human presence, and so you have... – uhoh Apr 22 '18 at 12:11
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    ...chosen a particularly potent and extreme example as a way of getting to the crux of the matter. Also, as the question hits on a topic that some might find a little yucky, you might consider a less off-colorful title to reassure some readers that you're looking for a serious, factual answer. – uhoh Apr 22 '18 at 12:24
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    There are some places on Earth where burial space for corpses is either very limited or non-existent and grave sites have to be recycled, but exporting corpses to Mars is somewhat extreme & hideously expensive. As for potential future Mars explorers or colonists what do you propose be done with their bodies when some die? Returning them to Earth, or getting them off Mars would be expensive. Jettisoning them into outer space would only create space junk which would be hazardous to space craft. Burial, cremation or chemical decomposition via acid, or whatever on Mars may be the only option. – Fred Apr 22 '18 at 12:26
  • @uhoh To be honest i've done no prior research about any existing rules etc .I assumed there are none, because the Mars one project is still going on.I use the colorful title to show my emotion that it seems quite allright to contaminate this way ! – Cornelis Apr 22 '18 at 12:33
  • @Fred The Mars one project wants to leave corpses on Mars. I think cremation would be a good option, but then an incinerator has to be send to Mars before humans go there. And then the aim of the project to be cheap gets lost. – Cornelis Apr 22 '18 at 12:40
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    Why do you think a distinction needs to be made between microbes and humans? The only issue is our ability to detect if life exists on Mars. Corpses and microbes degrade that ability to the same extent. – Hobbes Apr 24 '18 at 17:09
  • @Hobbes Rovers and other devices can be sterilized beforehand, the human body can't live wthout microbes. Also i'm still asking myself if there are ethical grounds as well ? – Cornelis Apr 24 '18 at 22:39
  • So it's not just corpses you're objecting to, but all manned missions. It'd be almost impossible for a manned mission to avoid contaminating Mars. – Hobbes Apr 25 '18 at 05:59
  • @Hobbes While humans on Mars stay in their spacesuits there will be no problems with contamination ? – Cornelis Apr 25 '18 at 10:51
  • Depends on the design of the spacesuit and habitat. The room where the spacesuits are donned is generally inside, so microbes from inside the habitat will be on the outside of the spacesuit. There are spacesuits that are designed to avoid this, (they're attached to the outside of the habitat), but even then it's difficult to avoid all contact between inside and outside. It's much easier to e.g. toss the trash out an airlock than to process it entirely inside the habitat. – Hobbes Apr 25 '18 at 11:17
  • @Hobbes I doubt if the first habitat on Mars will be able to handle dead bodies. Would it be a suitable option for an astronaut that his body will be transported to the Sun ? – Cornelis Apr 25 '18 at 12:29
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Hobbes Apr 25 '18 at 13:07

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Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty requires parties to the Treaty to conduct their activities so as to avoid "harmful contamination" of celestial bodies, which would include Mars. This obligation also extends to the activities of commercial actors; Article VI of the Treaty requires States to ensure that their private actors' activities comply with Treaty obligations.

As far as what counts as "harmful contamination", right now most countries look to the COSPAR Guidelines as the most well-articulated set of rules to prevent contamination. The guidelines aren't themselves legally binding, but following them generally is seen as sufficient to meet the Article IX obligation. These guidelines would generally forbid the dumping of unsterilized human corpses, or other similar biological material, on Mars.

As for enforcement mechanisms, there aren't significant ones built into the Outer Space Treaty itself. Likely, complaints would be resolved through diplomatic channels, either through consultations and discussions in COPUOS, or directly between relevant parties to the Outer Space Treaty.

Edit to add additional information about crewed missions: The COSPAR guidelines don't have a lot of useful information about how we would handle the Article IX obligation in the context of a crewed mission to Mars (or Europa, or Ganymede, or other relatively high risk locations). This is something the international community is going to need to articulate and develop in the medium-term.

SpaceLawyer
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