Mars sample receiving facility or facilities? That is the question

To return samples from Mars is a major goal of the scientific community studying the origin of life, looking for extraterrestrial forms of life, and studying the planets and their evolution. NASA and ESA are preparing such a mission which is currently categorized by COSPAR as restricted Earth return. This will strongly constrain the management of the returned samples until they are certified safe. This certification will be obtained after preliminary studies conducted in specialized and dedicated facilities. This paper describes the main rationale to build and operate, at minimum, two different facilities capable of handling such samples and to perform the tests and investigations required.