The great scientist reveals his fears over extraterrestrial contamination in letters to The Times
Sir Bernard Lovell died on the day the Mars Science Laboratory – better known as Curiosity – landed on Mars. Had he lived to digest the news, it might have worried him.
Nearly half a century earlier, in the heady dawn of unmanned space exploration, Lovell was uniquely placed to watch the superpowers’ probes head out into the solar system. He was also extremely concerned that they might be carrying bugs from Earth.
As director (and designer) of the Jodrell Bank radio telescope, Lovell found himself thrust into the unexpected role of international space launch monitor: for a few years his dish