The JPL Biological Materials Archive demonstrates how NASA & JPL are committed to preserving and documenting microorganisms that may be of significance in understanding planetary exploration.

Our archive collection consists of organisms as well as organic materials collected from spacecraft associated surfaces that have been preserved from previous missions dating back to the Viking missions in the 1970s. Microbial cultures are preserved following sampling events in which spacecraft are verified for microbial cleanliness. The spacecraft and cleanroom environments are both unique and harsh, typically dominated by hardy microorganisms, creating a one-of-a-kind collection.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory takes great precautions during missions to avoid the possible introduction and proliferation of Earth microbes from spacecraft on any planetary body with the potential for past or current biological activity. To prevent either forward or backward contamination, the essence of planetary protection, spacecraft hardware must be cleaned and/or sterilized as well as evaluated for the presence of microorganisms. Additionally, the flight hardware must be maintained in cleanroom environments to control for biological and environmental contamination such as dust particles and moisture. Special air filtering, personnel garments and routine cleaning, provide and maintain a specified level of cleanliness.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group is applying bioinformatics to advance understanding in the fields of microbial ecology of extreme environments, space biology, astrobiology and planetary protection.

Recent advances in molecular biology has lead to enhanced "Omics" data for analysis. Omics data can include genomics (the study of genes), proteomics (the study of proteins), and metabolomics (the study of cellular chemistry and metabolism). Analysis can often require dedicated software and application of specific bioinformatic methods.

Previous Mars missions have established that there are places on the surface of Mars that had environmental conditions suitable to support life in the ancient past. These conditions include long-term liquid water on the planet’s surface long ago and the presence of key chemical ingredients. Whether life actually existed on the Red Planet is still an open question. NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will take the next logical step in Mars exploration and search for signs of past microbial life on the Red Planet.