Extraterrestrial sample curation

Extraterrestrial sample curation is when scientists take samples of material found on other planets, moons, or asteroids (extraterrestrial bodies) and study them here on Earth. They do this to understand more about the makeup of these celestial bodies, the history of our solar system, and look for the potential of life beyond Earth. To do this, the scientists will collect pieces of rock, soil, gas, etc from the extraterrestrial body and bring them back to Earth in special containers designed to keep them safe. Then, these samples are stored in a secure area called a curation facility, where special procedures are put in place to make sure the samples are handled carefully and nothing is lost or contaminated. Scientists from all over the world can then come and observe, measure, and study these extraterrestrial samples with the help of sophisticated equipment, advancing our understanding of the solar system and beyond.