History of Antarctic Meteorite Exploration

The history of Japanese Antarctic meteorite exploration dates back to 1969, when the 10th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition discovered nine meteorites. Since then, approximately 17,400 meteorites have been collected in 24 expeditions.

In 1969, the 10th expedition was investigating the ice sheet southeast of the Yamato Mountains when they accidentally discovered nine meteorites. Although only nine meteorites were found, they contained six different types of meteorites, which greatly influenced later meteorite exploration in Antarctica.

The next discovery was of 12 meteorites by the 14th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 1973. Again, this was an accidental discovery made during research for other purposes in the same area. The following year, in 1974, meteorite exploration was declared an objective for the first time, and the 15th expedition to the Yamato Mountains collected 663 meteorites, marking the beginning of Japan's Antarctic meteorite exploration in earnest.

Year	Expedition Number	Number of collected meteorites	Note	Meteorite Name
1969	JARE-10	9	First discovery of meteorites in the Yamato Mountains	Yamato-69
1973-74	JARE-14	12		Yamato-73
1974-75	JARE-15	663	Organized Meteorite Exploration Begins	Yamato-74
1975-76	JARE-16	308		Yamato-75
1976-77	ANSMET	11	Japan-U.S. Joint Meteorite Exploration	Allan Hills-76 etc.
1977-78	ANSMET	249	Japan-U.S. Joint Meteorite Exploration	Allan Hills-77 etc
1978-79	ANSMET	227	Japan-U.S. Joint Meteorite Exploration	Allan Hills-78 etc.
1979-80	JARE-20	3697	Discovery of Lunar Meteorite	Yamato-79/Belgica-79
1980-81	JARE-21	13		Yamato-80
1981-82	JARE-22	133		Yamato-81
1982-83	JARE-23	211	Discovery of Lunar Meteorites Continues	Yamato-82
1983-84	JARE-24	42		Yamato-83
1984-85	JARE-25	59		Yamato-84
1985
1986-87	JARE-27	817	Discovery of the largest lunar meteorite	Yamato-86/Asuka-86
1988	JARE-29	352		Asuka-87
1988	JARE-29	1597
1989
1990-91	JARE-31	48		Asuka-90
1991
1992-93	JARE-33	3		Yamato-92
1993
1994-95	JARE-35	16		Yamato-94
1995-1997
1998-99	JARE-39	4180	Micrometeorite collection	Yamato 98/Belgica 98
1999
2000	JARE-41	3554	Micrometeorite collection	Yamato 00
2001-2008
2009-10	JARE-51	635	Belgium-Japan Joint Meteorite Exploration	Asuka 09
2010	JARE-52	230	Belgium-Japan Joint Meteorite Exploration	Asuka 10
2011
2012	JARE-54	420	Belgium-Japan Joint Meteorite Exploration	Asuka 12
2019-2020	JARE-61	66	Belgium-Japan Joint Meteorite Exploration	Asuka 19

Recent Exploration

Meteorite Research in the Sør Rondane Mountains and Nansen Icefield - A Japan-Belgium Collaboration

The 54th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-54) conducted a joint meteorite survey of the Nansen Icefield south of the Sør Rondane Mountains from December 1, 2012, to February 14, 2013, by the Japanese and Belgian teams. As a result, they collected a total of about 420 Asuka meteorites weighing about 75 kilograms. The meteorites collected included a large 18-kilogram chondrite and some rare types, like achondrites and primitive carbonaceous chondrites.

Members of the meteorite exploration team

Location of Meteorite Collection

Japan has found meteorites in several specific areas in Antarctica. These include the exposed ice fields in the Yamato Mountains, the Belgica Mountains, and the region near the Sør Rondane Mountains. The names given to these meteorites, "Yamato" and "Asuka" (the latter is named after the Asuka Base, close to the Sør Rondane Mountains), are based on the locations where they were found.

Location of Meteorite Collection

Antarctic Meteorite Research Center

National Institute of Polar Research

10-3, Midori-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan