Sample Allocation

Antarctic meteorites are allocated to domestic and international research and educational institutions under specific policies for the purpose of scientific research and education. Precious meteorites may also be the subject of consortium studies led by researchers at the National Institute of Polar Research. Other joint research projects are conducted for classification (classification of new meteorite species and iron meteorites).

Antarctic meteorites are limited and valuable samples, and it is important to allocate samples for research as well as to store them. The Antarctic Meteorite Research Center has established specific criteria and allocates samples within a range that does not exceed those criteria. However important the research may be, we must avoid exhausting the meteorite for the sake of that research. This decision is the difficult part of curation.