The Antarctic Search for Meteorites

该奖项由极地项目办公室的南极地质和地球物理项目提供，为南极陨石搜索（ANSMET）的继续提供资金。自1976年以来，ANSMET已经从横越南极山脉沿线的地点回收了10,000多个陨石标本。该奖项支持从2000-2001年开始到2005-2006年结束的连续六个南极夏季野外季节继续恢复南极陨石。在该项目下，将在先前发现的搁浅表面进行系统的陨石标本搜索，并进行侦察工作，以发现和探索新的陨石集中区域的范围。ANSMET的救援小组将通过空中部署到深海地区，为期5-7周。在陨石搁浅的表面，实地小组成员将通过步行或雪地摩托进行视觉搜索。标本将在最无菌的条件下收集，样品将保持冷冻，直到送回德克萨斯州休斯顿的约翰逊航天中心（JSC）。在JSC，在NSF、NASA和史密森学会之间的机构间协议的支持下，对所有感兴趣的研究人员进行初步表征和样本分发。ANSMET的影响是巨大的，这将在该合同下继续下去。ANSMET回收的陨石是新的、非微观的地外物质的最好和最可靠的来源，提供了关于构成我们太阳系小行星、行星和其他天体的物质的基本“基本真相”。它们的特征和分布系统是无与伦比的，它们随后的研究从根本上改变了我们对太阳系的理解。ANSMET陨石帮助研究人员探索了45.56亿年前太阳系诞生的星云中存在的条件，并提供了小行星的样本，从太阳系形成以来未发生变化的原始天体到复杂的、地质活跃的微型行星。ANSMET的样本证明，与传统观点相反，一些陨石实际上代表了行星物质，从月球和火星带给我们，完全改变了我们对这些天体地质的看法。ANSMET的陨石甚至引发了一种对最基本的科学问题之一的新探索；整个宇宙中生物活动的问题。在过去的二十年里，ANSMET的陨石经济地为研究提供了源源不断的、随时可用的地外材料，并且在未来应该继续这样做。

9980452HarveyThis award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds for continuation of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET). Since 1976, ANSMET has recovered more than 10,000 meteorite specimens from locations along the Transantarctic Mountains. This award supports continued recovery of Antarctic meteorites during six successive austral summer field seasons, starting with the 2000-2001 season and ending with the 2005-2006 season. Under this project, systematic searches for meteorite specimens will take place at previously discovered stranding surfaces, and reconnaissance work will be conducted to discover and explore the extent of new areas with meteorite concentrations. ANSMET recovery teams will deploy by air to locations in the deep field for periods of 5-7 weeks. While at the meteorite stranding surface, field team members will search the ice visually, traversing on foot or on snowmobile. Specimens will be collected under the most sterile conditions practical and samples will remain frozen until returned to the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. At the JSC, initial characterization and sample distribution to all interested researchers takes place under the auspices of an interagency agreement between NSF, NASA, and the Smithsonian Institution.The impact of ANSMET has been substantial and this will continue under this award. The meteorites recovered by ANSMET are the best and most reliable source of new, non-microscopic extraterrestrial material, providing essential "ground-truth" concerning the materials that make up the asteroids, planets and other bodies of our solar system. The system for their characterization and distribution is unparalleled and their subsequent study has fundamentally changed our understanding of the solar system. ANSMET meteorites have helped researchers explore the conditions that were present in the nebula from which our solar system was born 4.556 billion years ago and provided samples of asteroids, ranging from primitive bodies unchanged since the formation of the solar system to complex, geologically active miniature planets. ANSMET samples proved, against the conventional wisdom, that some meteorites actually represent planetary materials, delivered to us from the Moon and Mars, completely changing our view of the geology of those bodies. ANSMET meteorites have even generated a new kind of inquiry into one of the most fundamental scientific questions possible; the question of biological activity in the universe as a whole. Over the past twenty years, ANSMET meteorites have economically provided a continuous and readily available supply of extraterrestrial materials for research, and should continue to do so in the future.