Heading back to the snow machines after meteorite searching

Good news! Wind has blown away most of the snow sitting on the ice; now we can spot meteorites! Unfortunately, the wind has also brought the cold. Everyone on the team managed to stay warm and happy (except for Lauren’s left foot) in about -10 to 0 degree F temperatures plus wind, for our first full 2 days out. This means we spend 8 hours a day traveling, searching for meteorites by snow machine or walking on feet and knees, eating lunch, slipping on ice, and drinking hot fluids. Cold and windy lunch is interesting; I ended up with crumb-covered gloves and had to stumble and slide to catch a runaway granola bar wrapper. We’re getting the hang of meteorite hunting and the collection process. Over these 2 days, we found 41 meteorites, including a few big ones! Yesterday we searched areas previously scanned by ANSMET. Today we systematically scanned a new blue ice area on our snow machines. I can’t even describe how exciting it is to find a meteorite. Although it’s hard work requiring patience, focus, and second-guessing, the joy of seeing a shiny black rock in front of your feet that travelled millions of miles from space is all-encompassing. We tend to do a little dance for each unique beautiful meteorite we find. And we’re just getting started!

-Emilie from cold and windy Davis Ward, Antarctica