13. ANSMET Antarctic Meteorite Collection Sites

This map of Antarctica shows some of the places where meteorites have been found in abundance. Each year the U.S. sponsors ANSMET (the Antarctic Search for Meteorites), a group of meteorite hunters. Money for the hunts comes from the National Science Foundation and NASA. The first ANSMET team joined Japanese explorers to hunt for meteorites in Antarctica in 1976. The Japanese had started collecting in Antarctica in 1973 and retrieved 983 meteorites in just three expeditions. More than 7500 meteorite samples have been collected by ANSMET expeditions since then. For comparison, only about 2500 meteorites have been found outside Antarctica.

Lunar and Planetary Institute

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