Publisher's Synopsis
What happens to a meteorite when it ceases to be a rock that fell from the sky and becomes scientific heritage? Who is responsible for its safekeeping, analysis, integrity, and traceability for decades? How is this mineral testimony of the solar system documented, preserved, and transmitted?
This guide offers a complete and rigorous overview of curatorial work with meteorites, from the receipt of a sample to its official classification, from handling and cutting protocols to the management of public and private collections. It is written for those, from laboratories, museums, universities, and archives, who assume the responsibility of preserving the oldest material that can be touched.
With a technical, narrative, and deeply practical approach, the author-a specialist in meteoric petrography and curator of one of the most active collections in the Spanish-speaking world-shares protocols, criteria, frameworks, and reflections that are not usually taught in traditional manuals. This work also covers legal aspects, international databases, institutional relations, and best practices for preventive conservation, in addition to offering a complete curatorial form and essential technical appendices.
Because the curator of meteorites doesn't just catalog rocks: he preserves fragments from other worlds. And his work, though invisible, is what ensures that this legacy is available to the science of the present and the future.
