An expedition was held in early November 2019.

Kazan Federal University has been active in space matter science for a long time. In 2018, KFU welcomed the participants of the 81st Meeting of Meteoritical Society. This September, a joint project with French and Muscovite colleagues was implemented at the Carla crater in Tatarstan.

The expedition comprised Vice-Rector for Research Danis Nurgaliev, Junior Research Associate Dilyara Kuzina, Dmitry Kuzin, and Junior Research Associate of Ural Federal University Alexander Pastukhovich.

Before the trip, the team studied cartographical information to find more promising search areas. Needless to say, life and safety preparations were also meticulous – the desert has huge temperature differentials and is hard to navigate.

Dr. Nurgaliev comments, “What are the specific traits of meteorites and how find them? First of all, they are covered by thin rust, the so-called ‘desert tan.’ Secondly, you have to study the object’s magnetic properties; for that, rods with a strong magnet are used. If a specimen gets magnetized, then you are close to success. And the final two criteria are high specific weight and a lack of pores. If all criteria have been met, then there is a 95% probability that you found a meteorite.”

Some of the findings were given away to the Chilean National Service for Geology and Mining. The rest were transported to Russia and will be studied at Kazan Federal University and Ural Federal University. By the way, Chile, among other reasons, was chosen because it permits to transport meteorites away from the country.

Source text: Leisan Zinnatullina

Translation: Yury Nurmeev