Most Likely Way to Protect Against Infectious Disease When Visiting Other Planets?

In various science fiction works, we see our plucky heroes beaming down to, or flying down to planets other than their own. They meet with the inhabitants there, be they human or otherwise and then they just go back on their way without incident.

Given the situation the world finds itself at the moment, this has me wondering what would be the mechanism that would allow travellers to visit other planets (or countries?) without becoming infected, infecting those they meet or otherwise without suffering the consequences of infection/quarantine etc?

Imagine right now, if a human from (say) the ISS beamed down to the surface, met with a few people for some intergalactic peace conference and then beamed back up again. There's a reasonable chance they'd take Covid with them, with all the consequences that entails.

Should they have some sort of tox-screen in their teleporter that filters out the bugs whilst in transit? Such a solution might mean they infect the locals with something they already have (and possibly need). Should they wear some sort of bio-forcefield that blocks the bugs but still lets them breathe the air? Should they have some sort of "universal immunity" before they travel? What about the locals?

How might some future people solve infection issues when visiting strange new worlds, or seeking out new life? I realise we're talking about future-fiction here, but which would be the most practical/socially acceptable/physiologically acceptable etc?

posted almost 4 years ago

Ralph Bolton‭

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