"John Doe" wrote in message
...
Jim Oberg wrote:

At the impact speeds of the particle collection,
it would be self-sterilizing to the nth degree.

For conventional viri and microbes, yes, assuming a head-on collision.
But assuming every particle will be at speed of 0 while the ship is at
high speed is perhaps a dangerous assumption. And assuming that only
viri and microbes known on earth are a danger to the human body is also
a dangerous assumption.

There are also other things (like fungi and prions) that are also dangerous
to the human body.

And it works both ways too. You don't want stuff on earth to contaminate
what it has collected.

Once the particles crash into the gel, they are for all intents and
purposes fully encapsulated.

George