Meteorite expeditions

The Mineralogical Museum has already participated in a first search expedition to the Mongolian Gobi Desert in 1993 (EUROMET, 1993) and in an expedition to the Sahara of the Republic of Niger in 1997 (GEO Magazine, 1997). From 2000 to 2004, there were several search expeditions to the Libyan Sahara, together with Libyan institutions. Initiated by the Mineralogical Museum Hamburg, a first German meteorite expedition to Antarctica took place in the Antarctic summer 2007/2008 in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. In 2009, an expedition to the Rub al-Khali was undertaken in cooperation with the Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Expedition Mongolia, 1993
In August and September 1993, the southern part of the Mongolian Gobi Desert was crossed in search of meteorites. The expedition, in which Mongolian and German scientists participated, was financed by funds of the European Community (EUROMET). It turned out that the Mongolian Gobi Desert has no meteorite finding areas as they are known from the Sahara or the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. However, during the expedition all Mongolian meteorites, which are in various museums in Mongolia, were sampled and subsequently scientifically processed (e.g. Adzhi-Bogdo stone). In addition, the Tabun Khara Obo impact crater was toured and studied.

Expedition Niger, 1997
In February and March 1997, the Mineralogical Museum Hamburg participated in a scientific expedition to the Republic of Niger. The participants of the trip, which was financed by the magazine GEO (see GEO, July 1997, 12-51 and August 1997, 34-53), first crossed the Aïr Mountains on foot as part of petrological studies, and then searched for meteorites in the Ténéré du Tafassasset, a part of the southern Sahara, as the very first expedition. 10 stony meteorites were discovered, among them the rare EL4-5 enstatite chondrite Grein 002, as well as a chondrite weighing 27 kg (Tiffa 001; H5).

Expeditions Libya, 2000-2004

Within the framework of two research projects financed by the German Research Foundation, the Mineralogical Museum Hamburg in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, and the Industrial Research Centre (IRC), Tripoli, Libya, was able to undertake several expeditions to the central Shara. The main objective of the research projects was to clarify why and under which conditions meteorites concentrate in some desert regions. Libyan scientists were also trained in meteorite science. During joint search expeditions numerous meteorites could be discovered, which were subsequently jointly scientifically processed and published.

Expedition Antarctica, 2007/2008
In cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover, a previously unknown meteorite discovery area was discovered in Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. The project, which originated from an initiative of the Mineralogical Museum Hamburg, was financed by the BGR and supported by AWI and was carried out in the Antarctic summer of 2007/2008. In a short time 16 meteorites were discovered, among them a 31 kg thick iron meteorite (QMI 07009).

Expedition United Arab Emirates, 2009
In February and March 2009 the Mineralogical Museum Hamburg in cooperation with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the archaeologist H. Kallweit as well as a colleague from the Natural History Museum London undertook a meteorite searching expedition to the Umm Az-Zamul region of the Rub' al Khali desert. In this previously unknown meteorite finding area 28 stony meteorites could be discovered with the active support of local scientists and rangers.