The Meteoritical Society Endowment Fund supports a variety of activities through grants that are made twice a year. We are very pleased to announce that three Community Grants were recently selected for funding during the second selection opportunity in 2025. Thank you to the Endowment Committee for their efforts leading this opportunity. The summaries below, provided by the lead of each project, give more information about the worthwhile activities being supported through these new Community Grants.
- Claudia Aravena González (Museo del cazameteoritos Cherufe, Chile)
- "Meteorites & Dinosaurs Chile." The “Cazameteoritos Cherufe” Museum, located within Big Bang Park (La Serena, Chile), will leverage the region's astronomy tourism to promote interest in meteoritics research by: (1) Hosting 4 live-streamed lectures by impact science experts, (2) Digitizing its meteorite collection to improve access, (3) Restoring 20 Pichasca Valley dinosaur replicas (including Chile’s first carnivore), and (4) Conducting meteorite identification workshops with reference samples. Funding will support: Specialist collaborations, analytical materials for workshops, replica restoration, and digital infrastructure to share findings on meteorite-extinction linkages in Chile’s geologic record.
- David King (Auburn University, USA)
- "Proposal to enhance public understanding of Wetumpka impact structure, Alabama USA, by enhancing the quality of displays of geological materials at the city-owned Crater Discovery Center in downtown Wetumpka." This proposal is specifically targeted to broaden public awareness and knowledge of meteorite impact structures among visitors to the city, local people, teachers, and public school students, specifically regarding Wetumpka impact structure, Alabama. The specific goal of the project proposed here is to enhance the quality of displays of geological materials at the city-owned Crater Discovery Center in downtown Wetumpka.
- Rachel Kirby (Monash University, Australia)
- "Exploration of the Camooweal region to assess the suitability of the region for the expansion of the Global Fireball Observatory." I aim to explore the suitability of the Camooweal region in northern Australia for future meteorite recovery expeditions and expansion of the Global Fireball Observatory. Through this expansion I hope to increase the number of meteorites recovered from Australian desert regions and allow for more meteorite falls with known pre-Earth orbits to become available for scientific research.
- Daniel Moncada (University of Chile, Chile)
- "Classification & Curation of Atacama’s Ordinary Chondrites at Chile’s Oldest University." This project aims to classify 57 ordinary chondrites from El Médano, Catalina, and Los Vientos—collected by the Universidad de Chile—using optical microscopy (U. Chile Paleomagnetism Lab and Planetary Fluids Lab) and infrared spectroscopy (UDP Cosmic Dust Lab). The collection will be preserved as a heritage resource, supporting future research. Funding will be used to cover laboratory analyses, climate-controlled storage, and a free lecture for geology students through an open call in collaboration with the Chilean Geological Society.
- James Scott (Aarhus University, Denmark)
- " First deployment of the Greenlandic Fireball Array." Greenland should hold one of the richest numbers of meteorites in Europe but current recovery is hampered by the lack of observational data and the difficulty in knowing where to search. In 200 years, there are 4 known meteorites. The Nordic Meteor Network seeks to deploy the first purpose-built 360° fireball cameras to enable the first triangulation of fireballs above the western side of the Greenland icesheet. These will enable calculation of meteorite strewn fields and thus enhance the recovery of Greenlandic meteorites.
The Meteoritical Society is delighted to be able to support these worthwhile projects that further the society’s goals to promote research and education in planetary science. The next application deadline for Endowment Fund requests is 15th January 2026. Guidelines for submitting your requests can be found on the Endowment page of the website.