News

The 84th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society on August 15–21, 2021, will be an in-person meeting held at the Hilton Chicago located downtown with views overlooking Grant Park, Lake Michigan, and the Museum Campus. Virtual attendance will be possible for those who cannot travel to Chicago. Registration Early registration closes on June 15, 2021. Regular registration closes on July 30, 2021. The deadline to cancel registration with a full refund is July 30, 2021. The Meteoritical Society will be implementing a series of health and safety protocols and onsite precautions in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As new developments arise over the coming months, our approach will adapt, and we will keep the community informed of any changes. Onsite health and safety measures and requirements for in-person participation will be communicated at least two weeks prior to the start of the event. By registering for the Meteoritical Society’s 84th Annual Meeting as an in-person attendee, you are consenting to compliance with any health and safety protocols published by the Meteoritical Society, the organizing committee, the Hilton Chicago, and/or local health officials. More…

The Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG, formerly CAPTEM) is seeking applications for open positions starting in April 2021. If you are interested in serving on ExMAG, please apply by March 31, 2021. Applications should consist of a short statement describing your interest and qualifications for the position sought and a two-page CV; send to ExMAG.community@gmail.com. Potential members should be prepared to attend the ExMAG Spring Meeting April 7-8, 2021, which will be held virtually. Exploration Hardware. One regular member of ExMAG with experience or expertise in the curation and user base for space-exposed Exploration Hardware is sought. Facilities and Informatics Subcommittee Chair. The Facilities and Informatics Subcommittee provides analysis to NASA concerning the operation, maintenance, construction, and future planning for curatorial facilities and data-serving capabilities for NASA-held collections, in consultation with the PI community and Curation at Johnson Space Center. Lunar Subcommittee member. The Lunar Subcommittee provides assessment and analysis for all aspects of current and future lunar sample curation, including sample and hardware handling processes, contamination control, documentation, and facilities design, care, and use. Meteorite Subcommittee members. The Meteorite Subcommittee provides assessment and analysis for all aspects of current and future Antarctic meteorite sample curation, including sample and hardware handling processes, contamination control, documentation, and facilities design, care, and use. More…

An ExMAG (formerly CAPTEM) town hall meeting will be held virtually on February 25, 2021 from 3:00–5:00 p.m. EST. The committee, formerly known as the Curation, Analysis, and Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM), is changing! This town hall meeting will be for the community to learn about the transition from CAPTEM to the Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG), upcoming ExMAG spring and fall meetings, opportunities for membership on ExMAG, and to ask questions. More…

Frontiers in Mars Sample Chronology March 24-25, 2021 A virtual workshop sponsored by The Meteoritical Society and The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Determining the absolute ages of Mars samples is a key objective for current and future Mars exploration. Recent work on martian meteorites has pushed the analytical envelope in Mars sample geochronology; this work informs future plans for the geochronology of samples returned to Earth through Mars Sample Return, an effort that starts with the collection and caching of samples by the NASA Mars 2020 Mission. The goal of this workshop is to review recent results; identify and elaborate on the frontiers in spatial and isotopic resolution, and minimum sample mass; and consider advances that will be required to optimize the geochronology of future samples of Mars. Registration is free, but pre-registration is required. Abstract deadline is 5th March. We hope you can join us! Co-conveners: James Darling, University of Portsmouth Christopher Herd, University of Alberta More…

Renew your MetSoc membership before Jan. 20 to avoid loss of MaPS subscription. More…

Interactions between the interior and atmosphere of terrestrial planets are modulated by the planets’ bulk composition, which in turn is linked to the chemical properties of their host stars. As stellar photosphere and planetary atmosphere can be directly probed, compositional properties of the rocky interior can only be inferred from other data. What constraints can be placed on the range of possible compositions of terrestrial exoplanets? How do surface-interior interactions shape atmospheric properties of rocky worlds around other stars? How diverse is the physical and chemical parameter space of these exo-worlds? We invite contributions - from geodynamics, geochemistry, cosmochemistry as well as astrophysics - that explore physical and chemical links between stars and planets and between rocky interior and atmosphere, and their implications for planet long-term evolution. More…

A special issue of Meteoritics and Planetary Science honoring John T. Wasson, who passed away on 8 September 2020 is planned for fall 2021. Wasson spent more than 50 years as a professor and meteorite researcher at UCLA. He was President of the Meteoritical Society in 1979-1980. He received the Leonard Medal from the Meteoritical Society in 2002 and the J. Lawrence Smith award from the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. The mineral wassonite (TiS) and an asteroid (4783 Wasson) were named in his honor. Manuscripts should be submitted before 28 February 2021 at the MAPS website and will be reviewed following the regular MAPS procedures. Prior notification of submission to Sasha Krot will help to speed up the review process. Articles should be as concise as possible and should not exceed 16 printed pages. The journal assesses a charge of $70 per page for each printed page over this limit. Authors should limit their appreciations of John Wasson to one or two sentences in the acknowledgements. A tribute to John will preface the issue. Sasha Krot, Alan Rubin, and Ed Scott Special issue associate editors More…

The monthly lectures at the UCLA Meteorite Gallery are open to members of the Meteoritical Society. The UCLA Meteorite Gallery Lecture Series will now operate on the third Sunday of every month. More…

Institute of Meteoritics (IOM) at University of New Mexico is holding their weekly seminars every Tuesday by telecon and would like to open these seminars to any member of the society interested in attending. More…