Jim having a cuddle with his daughter Addie and her newest friend, an as-of-yet unnamed penguin in a NZARP parka.

Hi everyone-

Just a quick note today letting all of our readers know that the 8 members of this year’s field team all made it to their respective homes last week.  Jon was about a day ahead of the rest of the team on February 2;  most of the remaining folks headed north the next day,  and Daniela stayed in mcMurdo until the 6th.   By Thursday everyone had made it back to their point of origin. They are now working on recovery from jet-lag and enjoying the benefits of the civilized world,  where getting a glass of water doesn’t require mining and 45 minutes of smelting.

Jim and Brian are recovering,  but the clock keeps running for  ANSMET and we’ve already begun tackling a lot of our programmatic chores. A big focus is always backing up files and writing out notes to preserve all the lessons learned,  the gear stowed, and the plans made from the 2023-24 field season. Formal planning for next season (2024-2025) will begin in about a month.  Calendar management is a particular challenge, since many standards have changed in the past 3-4 years.  Understanding and adapting our schedules to the myriad deadlines we’ll face this year is a constant battle and really important;  miss the wrong due date for something and the season can evaporate quickly.

The next “big” event for ANSMET is less important in practical terms,  but still important in a psychological sense.  We will (hopefully) be holding our annual “ANSMET Slide Show” at the Lunar and Planetary Science conference in Houston, held in mid-March.  The event started in the late 1980’s as a chance for ANSMET vets to share slides (remember film?) and as word got around,  it grew quickly.  Since then ANSMET vets and wannabees have gathered annually to allow the most recent crop of  field party members to share their stories and their experiences as they see fit.   The “slide show serves a lot of purposes- it can be an outlet for exuberant joy and reflection, rebellious sensese of humor, a moment of closure , and a theatrical advertisement of the ANSMET volunteer opportunity.   Jim is eager to bring it back to its full glory this March, and is working out the details for that gathering now.

-Ralph, from sunny Cleveland OH.