Space Microbial Culture Collection Selected As The Official Microbial Isolate Repository For Planetary Protection Research

The Space Microbial Culture Collection (SMCC) has been awarded a grant from NASA’s Planetary Science Division through the Planetary Protection Research (PPR) program to serve as the official repository for microbial isolates.

This initiative will allow researchers from both past and current PPR projects to submit microbial samples to SMCC, ensuring their preservation and accessibility for future research. Beginning this year, SMCC will collaborate with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to pilot the transfer of critical microbial samples collected by JPL’s Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group (BPG).

Over time, approximately 10,000 isolates gathered during past missions, including Mars spacecraft assembly efforts, will be transferred to SMCC for long-term storage and dissemination.

This initiative exemplifies open science in action and highlights the power of cross-Center and cross-SMD collaboration to advance planetary protection and support the broader scientific community.

Astrobiology, Space Biology,