NASA Johnson's Astromaterials Laboratory

For more than 50 years, NASA astronauts and scientists have explored the Earth and sky, searching for ways to study the elements and materials that make up the Solar System. NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, or ARES is responsible to preserve lunar and other samples for current and future scientific research. The samples are protected inside secure and environmentally controlled vaults. As part of the agency’s Artemis program, NASA is preparing to go back to the Moon, this time to the South Pole. Astronauts will bring back more samples for current and future generations to study.