The sixth Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution Conference (LMI VI) took place from September 30 to October 3, 2019 at the Finatec (Fundação de Empreendimentos Científicos e Tecnológicos) building on the campus of the University of Brasília (UnB) in Brasilia, Brazil. Ninety participants from 21 countries participated in this event, having contributed a total of 121 abstract submissions. The Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution conference series was established following the Workshop on Cryptoexplosions and Catastrophes in the Geological Record that was held in Parys (Vredefort Dome) in July 1987, with a format combining both plenary scientific sessions and field investigations. The first two LMI meetings were held in Sudbury (1992 and 1997), followed by Nördlingen (Ries Crater) in 2003, and the Vredefort Dome in 2008, before returning to Sudbury in 2013. LMI VI was the first-ever dedicated impact cratering meeting to be held in South America. The full conference program and extended abstracts can be viewed at https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lmi2019/pdf/lmi2019_program.htm. LMI VI had a modified meeting format by hosting two preconference workshops on September 28–29. The 1-day “Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and Geochronology” workshop, organized by Aaron Cavosie, Erin Walton, Timmons Erickson, and Gavin Kenny, appraised the 17 participants of recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of microtextural analysis and geochronology of shocked accessory minerals. In addition to overviews on EBSD analysis and current state-of-the-art dating techniques (LA-ICP-MS, SIMS, and ID-TIMS) available to date different accessory minerals in shocked rock, presentations also detailed microtextures in zircon and other accessory minerals that, in the future, may well become valuable tools for confirmation of shock metamorphism, shock barometry, and impact geochronology. In recognition of the LMI series being hosted for the first time on the South American continent and with a view to growing participation in impact studies, Ludovic Ferrière and Michael Poelchau organized a 1.5-day workshop on “Recognition of Impact Structures and Ejecta Layers on Earth—Shock Metamorphism in Rocks and Minerals” that had 19 participants. Presentations encompassed introductory shock physics; reviews of impact-diagnostic criteria; and new research results related to identification of impact structures, crater fields, and ejecta layers. Talks were interspersed with practical sessions in microscopy of shock deformation phenomena and crystallographic indexing of planar deformation features (Universal Stage analysis). Most of the 28 presenters at the two workshops also provided posters that allowed further discussion around these topics during the main conference program. The main conference was opened by the Dean of Research and Innovation of the University of Brasilia, Professor Maria Emilia Machado Telles Walter. A total of 70 oral and 51 poster presentations were made over the course of 4 days. Special sessions in the program included “The Chicxulub Impact Event and the K-Pg Boundary,” “Shock Wave/Material Interactions,” “Distal Impact Ejecta,” and “Impact Cratering on Lunar and Planetary Bodies,” besides more general themes such as “Cratering Processes,” “Complex Impact Structures,” “Large Impacts and the Evolution of Life,” “Impactites,” and “Impact Melts.” Keynote addresses were presented by John Spray on “A Role for Superplasticity in Impact Structure Formation,” David Baratoux on “The African Perspective on Planetary and Space Science (AFIPS),” and Christian Koeberl on “What Do We Know about the Formation of Libyan Desert Glass?” The 20 min oral presentation slots provided ample opportunity and stimulation for further interactions, and these continued into the tea and lunch breaks. Christian Koeberl also provided a laudatio for Victor L. Masaitis (July 21, 1921–July 21, 2019), a pioneer of impact cratering studies. The LMI VI conference group photograph taken in front of the FINATEC conference venue on the campus of the University of Brasilia. Social functions, an aspect for which the LMI meetings are well known, included the welcome dinner at Sallva Restaurant at the “Pontão” next to the lake, the poster session on the evening of September 30, as well as the conference banquet on October 2 at Coco Bambú, and the concluding farewell cocktails event the following evening. There was ample opportunity to discuss business or just enjoy the company of like-minded impact aficionados. Highlights of the conference program included the strong emphasis on microstructural investigations by EBSD in shock (impact) recognition efforts, while others underlined the importance that traditional optical microscopic investigations (such as confirmation of the presence of planar deformation features or diaplectic glass) will continue to have, especially where access to EBSD methodology is not readily available. Several examples of dating of shocked apatite, titanite, and xenotime by different techniques (SIM, LA-ICPMS, SHRIMP, or ID-TIMS) highlighted the expanding arsenal of tools available for impact studies, as well as the urgent need to expand shock barometry intercalibration for these new minerals. Participants welcomed the suggestions by the organizers to arrange a post conference proceedings volume. More than 30 presentations have been promised for a volume that will take the form of a GSA Special Paper, continuing the tradition of the five previous conferences in the LMI series. Directly following on the conference, from October 4–8, two excursions to Brazilian impact structures departed. Twenty-seven participants attended the excursion to the Araguainha Dome in central-western Brazil, which was led by Natalia Hauser with support from Uwe Reimold and Carolinna Souza Maia (all UnB). Additional contributors to the Araguainha field guide included Alvaro Crósta (University of Campinas), Marcos Vasconcelos (UFBA in Salvador), and Ana Rita Maciel (UnB). The second excursion was led by Elder Yokoyama (UnB), who guided 13 participants through the Vista Alegre and Vargeão impact structures in the southern part of the Paraná Basin of Brazil. The field guide was co-compiled by Alvaro Crósta. The Araguainha tour in front of the Serra de Arnica folded quartzites. Serra da Arnica represents the inner collar of the central uplift. The Araguainha excursion commenced with an examination of the regional stratigraphy of the Paraná basin in which South America's oldest and largest impact structure formed at around the time of the Permian/Triassic Boundary mass extinction event. Recently completed road cuttings provided excellent views of deformation effects attributed to the impact and led to animated discussion about their implications for the size and depth of erosion of the crater, as well as the possibility of an oblique angle of impact. Despite the threat of thunderstorms on the second day, the group was able to complete a 5 km transect through the southern part of the central uplift. The group examined the lower parts of the impact-deformed stratigraphy and a wide variety of impactites (impact melt rock, transitional granite, and polymict breccias), in addition to the alkali granite and shatter cone-bearing metasedimentary phyllite of the basement. The third day involved a somewhat shorter, but more strenuous, transect through the northern part of the central uplift in 39 °C heat to examine deformed conglomerates and sandstones, siliceous impact melt rocks, and polymict breccias. Both transects triggered significant and wide-ranging discussion on the complex spatial relationships between the different types of breccias that are currently being investigated, the complex structure of the central uplift, as well as the opportunities for further study of shock effects and dating of accessory mineral phases in the impact melt rocks. The excursion was generously supported by local communities from Ponte Branca, Araguainha, and Alto Araguaia, who provided an experienced field guide and hosted the group with a traditional home-cooked farm lunch (comida caseira) showcasing the cuisine of the Mato Grosso, and an evening churrasco (barbecue) featuring, among other treats, local fish from the Araguaia River. Transect through the northeastern part of the central uplift, Araguainha impact structure. The trip to the Vargeão and Vista Alegre structures afforded participants excellent opportunities to observe and discuss the formation of shatter cones, and examine monomict and polymict breccias and pseudotachylitic breccias formed in the Serra Geral basalt and its sedimentary footwall, with extensive discussion of these features as analogs for lunar and Martian exploration targets. In Vargeão, a transect was performed from the north rim of the structure to its central uplift, in which the participants had an overview of the evolution of the impact-induced deformation and its products. Despite extensive agricultural use in the area of the Vargeão central uplift, the participants were able to find shatter cones and polymict breccias that prompted a “hunt” for these impactites in the middle of the crop fields. In Vista Alegre, the trip was focused on the study of polymict and monomict breccia outcrops that occur in the central part of the structure. In the same way as at Araguainha, the local Vista Alegre community generously supported the trip, cleaning the excursion points and assisting with logistical arrangements, such as providing local guides. In addition to the scientific program, the tour promoted interaction between the participants and the local community, including interviews for radio shows and regional newspapers. The group was also hosted to a reception at the Coronel Vivida town hall. Phillipe Lambert (CIRIR, Rochechouart, France), with experience in geological heritage and outreach, offered his support to the mayor of Coronel Vivida for the development of a Visitor Center. The final part of the trip was the visit to an amethyst mine, where participants were able to acquire geodes and crystals from the Paraná basalt formations. The shatter cone “hunt” in the Vargeão central uplift. Photo credit: Karl Wimmer. Seventeen researchers and postgraduate students from Brazil attended the workshops and the conference and, judging from the discussions held during the conference and excursions, LMI VI will likely be a significant catalyst for future impact research on the South American continent. Several new collaborations with international impact research groups were already initiated during the conference and the ensuing excursions. Importantly, LMI VI also provided an opportunity for a plenary discussion on the future of the terrestrial impact database, an issue that was first raised at LMI V. In the closing session, the conference resolved that a formal approach be made to the Meteoritical Society through the office of the LMI VI Organizing Committee outlining the current status of the database and proposed future plans that require guidance and support from the Society. Second, it established a Task Group to review the existing state of the terrestrial cratering database and application of criteria for impact structure identification and confirmation, then to be considered by the impact community in 2020. LMI VI was considered a great success by the participants. This is largely due to the tireless efforts of the Local Organizing Committee of Wolf Uwe Reimold (UnB; Chair); Natalia Hauser, Luciana Prado, and Elder Yokoyama (all UnB); and Alvaro P. Crósta (University of Campinas), who were supported by international committee members David Baratoux (Toulouse), Jeff Plescia (Maryland), and Kai Wünnemann (Berlin). Christian Koeberl chaired the Scientific Committee that included Aaron Cavosie, Gareth Collins, Roger Gibson, Paula Lindgren, Lidia Pittarello, and Mark Wieczorek, as well as the members of the Organizing Committee. They did a sterling job in establishing a balanced and thoroughly exciting program. Mayra De Leon and Linda Garcia of the Meetings Department of the Lunar and Planetary Institute deserve special recognition here for their extensive and superb conference support to the Organizing Committee. The Vargeão and Vista Alegre tour at the viewpoint on the northern rim of the Vista Alegre impact structure. The Conference received substantial institutional support from the Barringer Crater Company, the Institute of Geosciences at UnB, the University of Brasília, the CAPES scientific foundation of Brazil, the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France), the FINATEC Foundation at the University of Brasília, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, The Meteoritical Society, and the Universities Space Research Association. In particular, the Barringer Crater Company, The Meteoritical Society, and the IRD provided significant financial sponsorships that allowed the Travel Award Committee to offer 21 travel grants to postgraduate students and early career researchers. Philippe Claeys (Chair), Lidia Pittarello, Steven Jared, and Lutz Hecht formed the Travel Award Committee that was also supported by David Baratoux on behalf of the IRD. The Organizing Committee would like to use this opportunity to express their sincere thanks to all organizations and the many individuals who made the success of LMI VI possible. This conference series has become a mainstay in the global progression of impact cratering studies. It has fertilized numerous projects and collaborations and, through this, greatly supported the future of impact cratering studies. Judging from the discussions already underway, LMI VI more than met its goal of broadening impact cratering studies in South America, particularly in Brazil. Editorial Handling Dr. A. J. Timothy Jull