Another Decade of Strange Quark Matter (ASTRO) Physics

We present a perspective of strange quark matter research in the 1991-2001 decade focused on astrophysics topics, with particular attention to open problems. We outline the basic concepts and developments in the field, paying attention to the established research and promising perspectives. An analysis of the whole literature (experimental searches, theory, astrophysical/cosmological) serves to point out some general trends, supported by a fairy complete statistical sample of published works.