Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

decades ago. NASA rightly takes responsibility for the curation and distribution of planetary
materials.
Collections of extraterrestrial materials are composed of:
• Samples that are delivered naturally to Earth in the form of meteorites and interplanetary
dust particles, and
• Samples collected by spacecraft missions and returned to Earth for study.
Recent sample return missions include Genesis, which collected samples of the solar wind,
and Stardust, which collected cometary material as it flew through the coma of Comet Wild 2. These
missions continue a legacy of sample return that includes the robotic Luna and the human Apollo
missions to the Moon. Currently, two sample return missions are under Phase-A study for NASA’s
New Frontiers program: OSIRIS-REx as a sample return mission to Near-Earth Asteroid 1999 RQ36,
and MoonRise as a sample return mission to the South Pole-Aitken Basin region of the Moon. The
missions recommended in Chapter 9 also include return of samples from a comet nucleus and Mars.
In the next decade, then, requirements for sample curation will rapidly grow to become of highest
priority.
Samples to be returned to Earth from many planetary bodies (e.g., the Moon, asteroids, and
comets) are given a planetary protection designation of “Unrestricted Earth Return” as they are not
regarded as posing any biohazard to Earth. However, future sample return missions from Mars and
other targets that might potentially harbor life (e.g. Europa and Enceladus) are classified as
“Restricted Earth Return” and are subject to quarantine restrictions, requiring special receiving and
curation facilities that can preserve the pristine nature of the returned materials and prevent potential
contamination of Earth. Such a Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) has been discussed in detail for
Mars Sample Return, 14,15,16 and would also need to be considered for return from other targets that are
classified as Restricted Earth Return.
Consistent with past recommendations in the reports cited above, a SRF for Restricted Earth
Return samples would provide the following:
• Biohazard assessment (following established protocols for life detection);
• Sterilization of samples for potential early release; and
• Release from containment of samples deemed to be safe, and transfer to appropriate
curation facilities.
Current biohazard facilities focus predominantly on sample containment and so existing
biocontainment facilities would not be optimal for receiving and characterizing the hazards associated
with extraterrestrial materials. Nonetheless, it is a good policy, where appropriate, to use existing
capabilities to reduce cost and risk, while maintaining the required safety requirements. A
coordinated approach to all potentially hazardous returned samples is needed that leverages the
considerable expertise within NASA and the scientific community in working with extraterrestrial
samples. As plans move forward for Restricted Earth Return missions, including Mars sample return,
NASA should establish a single advisory group to provide input on all aspects of collection,
containment, characterization and hazard assessment, and allocation of such samples. This
advisory group must have an international component.
The major site for curation and distribution of extraterrestrial samples within the United
States is the Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (AACO) of the Astromaterials Research
and Exploration Science division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The AACO oversees the
preparation and allocation of samples for research and education, initial characterization of new
samples, and secure preservation for the benefit of future generations. Sample allocation decisions
are performed under the guidance of the Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial
Materials (CAPTEM) and the Meteorite Working Group (MWG), both supported through the Lunar
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
10-16