The DWI’s protection of samples is key, as the UoL said any organisms from Earth could prevent scientists from detecting any extra-terrestrial signs of life in rocks brought back from space.
The lab also offers so-called “planetary protection” as it could prevent any extra-terrestrial life from posing a risk to Earth’s ecosystems.
The robotics offer a higher level of precision than human hands, which the UoL said could speed up the release of results to the scientific community.
NASA’s visit to the UK also included a trip to two London-based DWI project subcontractors.
These were, curation experts The Natural History Museum, and containment specialists at the Francis Crick Institute, whose labs work with highly infectious viruses.