http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/115vamkh.asp
Astronomy at the Ends of the Earth Scientists travel to Antarctica to continue their search for extraterrestrial rocks. by Kelly Kizer Whitt astronomy.com November 29, 2002 Teams of meteorite hunters are returning for their 26th year to the endless blue and white wind-swept ice fields of Antarctica. Thanks to a 3-year, $1.6-million grant from NASA, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) of Case Western Reserve University is able to add a new reconnaissance team to supplement the pre-existing team supported by the National Science Foundation. The new team will spend six weeks scouring the Pecora Escarpment, which lies about 200 kilometers from the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The hunters will live in tents with their basic needs re supplied by support aircraft. Traveling light allows the researchers to explore areas that have been previously inaccessible. The larger team of researchers will focus on the Goodwin Nunataks and MacAlpine Hills, areas known for high concentrations of meteorites. On the big ice sheets, where the nearest earth rocks are 3000 meters below your feet, it's easy to distinguish rocks that must have come from space. The teams have high hopes of bringing back meteorites that originated on Mars. James Garvin, a lead scientist for Mars Exploration, explains the importance of Martian samples: "As NASA prepares to embark upon a decade of intensified in situ exploration of Mars and on the way to an era in which sample return will be a key facet of our program, the collection of priceless meteorite samples from Antarctica is a vital step." He adds that "by supporting a dual-sampling team approach this year, NASA hopes to return a diversified set of meteorite samples and to increase the possibility of discovering additional meteorites from Mars." As the only available samples from Mars, these specimens have taught scientists about the geology of the Red Planet, including providing a chronology for igneous events, allowing direct study of the composition and properties of Martian material, and revealing the presence of organic compounds. The Antarctic finds have also afforded researchers the best and only possible glimpse into upcoming sample-return missions to Mars. Over the past quarter of a century, more than 11,800 meteorites have been recovered by the ANSMET team, including five Martian meteorites. The first Martian meteorite found in Antarctica and the seventh worldwide was retrieved from the Allan Hills region in 1977. But the fourth Martian meteorite found in Antarctica is the one that produced the most stir. Known as ALH84001, the space rock found near Allan Hills in 1984 showed evidence of possible ancient microbial life on Mars. Who knows what other discoveries are waiting on the icy continent at the end of the Earth? ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
