The Belgian Antarctic Meteorites and Micrometeorites (BAMM) project investigates meteorites and micrometeorites preserved in Antarctica to better understand the formation and evolution of the Solar System. Led by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in collaboration with national and international partners, the project builds on more than a decade of Belgian meteorite research in Antarctica.

Meteorites are among the oldest materials in the Solar System, dating back approximately 4.5 billion years. Their mineralogical, chemical and isotopic composition provides unique information about the formation of planets and the processes that shaped the early Solar System. Because Antarctica offers exceptionally favourable conditions for preserving extraterrestrial material, its blue ice fields are among the world's most productive locations for meteorite recovery.

The BAMM project focuses on the systematic search, collection and scientific study of meteorites, micrometeorites and associated geological samples in the Sør Rondane Mountains and surrounding blue ice fields. These samples are carefully preserved and analysed to reconstruct the history of planetary materials and improve our understanding of the evolution of the Solar System.

Through its discoveries and growing scientific collections, BAMM contributes to expanding Belgium's meteorite heritage while supporting international research into planetary science, cosmochemistry and the origins of terrestrial planets.

Initially funded by the 2010 InBev-Baillet-Latour Antarctic Fellowship, which was awarded to Dr Stephen Goderis from the Vrije Universitiet Brussels (VUB), the purpose of the MICROMETA project was to scour blue ice fields in Antarctica in the vicinity of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica to look for various types of micrometeorites that can provide information about the origins of our solar system and planet formation.