SAMBA (Search for Antarctic Meteorites – Belgian Antarctic) is Belgium's contribution to the international search for meteorites in Antarctica. Led by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in collaboration with the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) in Japan, the project explores blue ice fields south of the Sør Rondane Mountains in search of well-preserved meteorites.

Antarctica is one of the best places on Earth to recover meteorites. As glaciers flow across the continent, meteorites become concentrated in blue ice fields where strong winds remove the overlying snow and expose them at the surface. The cold, dry Antarctic environment also preserves these extraterrestrial rocks exceptionally well by limiting weathering and contamination.

Meteorites provide valuable information about the formation and evolution of the Solar System. Many originate from asteroids between Mars and Jupiter and preserve evidence of the processes that shaped planets, including the formation of crusts, mantles and metallic cores. By collecting and studying these samples, researchers gain insights into planetary evolution that cannot be obtained from rocks on Earth alone.

The meteorites recovered through the SAMBA project become part of Belgium's scientific collection and contribute to international research into the origins and evolution of the Solar System.