Astromaterials Curation

at the Johnson Space Center

Rocks and Soils from the Moon

Meteorites from Antarctica

Stratospheric Dust

Solar Wind

Space-Exposed Hardware

Stardust Sample Collections

Future Sample Collections

Astromaterials Curation at the NASA Johnson Space Center

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at the Johnson Space Center is tasked to curate NASA's current and future collections of extraterrestrial samples. Curation includes documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples for research, education, and public outreach.

Four collections are currently curated: the Apollo lunar rocks and soils, meteorites from Antarctica, cosmic dust collected in the stratosphere, and solar wind samples collected by the Genesis spacecraft. We also curate space-exposed hardware from missions to Earth orbit, the moon, and deep space.

The next generation of sample return missions will provide scientists and researchers with samples of comet and interstellar dust particles, material from the surface of an asteroid, and rocks and soil from Mars. These new samples have the potential to help scientists around the world solve some of the mysteries surrounding the birth and evolution of our solar system and the emergence of life.

Astromaterial Collections Maintained by the Johnson Space Center

Rocks and Soils from the Moon
Meteorites from Antarctica
Stratospheric Dust
Genesis - Solar Wind
Space-Exposed Hardware
Stardust Sample Collections
Future Sample Collections

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