Facilities, techniques, and operational procedures used to implement Planetary Protection (PP) requirements for the Viking Project are reviewed in order to better define the COSPAR resolution which proposes that Outer Planet spacecraft be assembled using Viking-like clean room technology. It is concluded that, for such missions, PP requirements can be met by adopting Viking clean room standards, personnel and operation procedures, and by establishing PP as an official entity in project management.

Over the last several years, the nature of the surface conditions on the planet Mars, our knowledge of the growth capabilities of Earth organisms under extreme conditions, and future opportunities for Mars exploration have been under extensive review in the United States and elsewhere. As part of these examinations, in 1992 the US Space Studies Board made a series of recommendations to NASA on the requirements that should be implemented on future missions that will explore Mars. In particular, significant changes were recommended in the requirements for Mars landers, changes that significantly alleviated the burden of planetary protection implementation for these missions. In this paper we propose a resolution implementing this new set of recommendations, for adoption by COSPAR at its 30th meeting in Hamburg. We also discuss future directions and study areas for planetary protection, in light of changing plans for Mars exploration.