The Astromaterials Data System: Advancing Access to Past, Present, and Future Lab Analytical Data of NASA's Astromaterials Collections

The Astromaterials Data System (AstroMat) is a comprehensive data system for laboratory analytical data generated on astromaterials. The system will host all data generated on samples from the Astromaterials Collections curated at NASA's Johnson Space Center. AstroMat has been under development since late 2018 with funding from NASA and has been releasing versions of system components that can be used for searching content in AstroMat and for publishing astromaterials data. We will provide an update on the status of the AstroMat software ecosystems and its data content in this presentation.

AstroMat is designed as an ecosystem of interconnected web applications that provide human- and machine-readable interfaces to the data gathered and managed in the AstroMat data store. is a synthesis of all past, present, and future laboratory analytical data for the Lunar, Antarctic Meteorite, Cosmic Dust, Genesis, Hayabusa, Stardust, and Microparticle Impact collections that is being compiled from the literature and other data sources together with a wide range of information pertaining to the provenance of the analytical measurements (e.g., analytical instrumentation, laboratory, sample preparation procedures, instrument calibration, data reduction) and to the quality of the data. AstroDB includes all lab analytical data for Apollo samples that had previously been compiled in the MoonDB synthesis. Data from more than 800 references pertaining to samples from the Apollo Missions and lunar meteorites were already compiled as part of the MoonDB project and have been migrated to the new AstroDB.The serves as a trusted repository, where researchers can publish and archive lab analytical data for any astromaterials, not only those for NASA collections.

AstroMat features graphical interfaces for users to search, access, explore, visualize, analyze, and contribute data (AstroSearch, AstroRef, AstroPlot, AstroDesk, AstroRepo) and machine-actionable interfaces that connect the databases to internal and external software tools (AstroAPIs, RepoAPIs). We encourage the community to advise and inform us on the usability and functionality of the interfaces in order for AstroMat to meet its goals of furthering planetary science research.