The National Research Council's Task Group on Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies Space Studies Board's eight-chapter report of 1998 is newly available in online electronic format. The report's introduction states that, "As advances in the biological and planetary sciences enable a shift from mere observation to active exploration of the solar system, space missions are increasingly likely to collect samples from planetary satellites and small solar system bodies and return them to Earth for study." Therefore, "this report of the Space Studies Board's Task Group on Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies considers whether samples returned to Earth from small solar system bodies might harbor living entities that could harm terrestrial organisms or disrupt ecosystems."