Meteorite Storage

Antarctica is the furthest away from human activity areas and is a clean environment with very little anthropogenic pollution. Special efforts have been made to store meteorites from this environment and to maximize their scientific value.

The meteorite storage room at the Antarctic Meteorite Research Center holds all of the Antarctic meteorites recovered by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE). Currently, the total number of meteorites is approximately 17,400 (of which about 9,000 have been classified and released to the public).

The meteorite storage room is a class 10,000 clean room (less than 10,000 particles of 0.5 microns or larger in a 30 cm cube) and is always kept at a temperature of 20°C and humidity of 50% or less. Maintaining a constant temperature and humidity prevents weathering of meteorites.

Even in this environment, preservation of meteorites is not perfect. Rust may develop on natural iron on surfaces that were cut or broken more than a few years ago. In addition, in some cases, such as when the outside air temperature exceeds 30 degrees Celsius due to the recent summer heat wave, the capacity of the air conditioning system is exceeded. Future issues include the installation of storage systems (nitrogen-filled or vacuum cabinets) that are less affected by the outside environment.

Panoramic view of the meteorite storage room

Meteorite sample storage shelf

Polished Thin Section storage shelf