Towards a single Cosmochemical Database: MetBase and the Astromaterials Data System (AstroMat) started a common future.

MetBase is since more than 20 years one of the world’s largest database for meteorite compositions [1], currently hosted in Germany. Recently, the Astromaterials Data System (AstroMat) has been developed as a data infrastructure to store, curate, and provide access to cosmochemical laboratory data. Astromat and MetBase have a shared goal: advancing the reuse of lab analytical data from astromaterials samples to maximise their value and impact for science, and therefore agreed to merge in two distinct steps:

The current MetBase graphical user interface will be modernised as part of the NFDI4Earth pilot project, then maintained at the GU Frankfurt, and become a general tool to access, visualise and work with cosmochemical and geochemical databases. Both MetBase and Astromat participate in the OneGeochemistry initiative, to contribute to community endorsed and governed standards for FAIR analytical data that will allow seamless data exchange and integration.

References: [1] http://www.metbase.org. [2] http://nfdi4earth.de [3] Stall et al. 2019. Nature 570(7759): 27-29. [4] https://www.astromat.org