[meteorite-list] Space Adventures Team Discovers Over 30 Meteorites In Antarctica

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:07 2004
Message-ID: <200202210110.RAA03545_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.spaceadventures.com/press/012902.html

Space Adventures Team Discovers Over 30 Meteorites In Antarctica
Space Adventures Press Release
January 29, 2002

Arlington, Va. -- The Space Adventures team of private
explorers discovered 33 meteorites during a meteorite recovery expedition in
the Thiel Mountains of Antarctica. The recovered meteorites, which vary in
size and shape, could possibly contain evidence of extraterrestrial life,
and will be made available through the Planetary Studies Foundation (PSF)
for study by NASA scientists.

The meteorite recovery expedition was led by Professor Paul Sipiera, a
planetary geologist and meteorite expert from Harper College in Illinois.
The explorers, who have spent eight days hiking and camping in harsh
Antarctic conditions in search for meteorites, have returned home. A daily
record of the expedition can be accessed online at

http://www.spaceadventures.com/terrestrial/antarctica.

During the first day in the Thiel Mountains, the team found their first
meteorite within hours, a 20-gram chondrite fragment with a fusion crust
over half of it. Each search was successful in recovering additional
meteorites of various sizes and textures. Some of the meteorites found are
completely covered by a fusion crust and appear to be rare.

The expedition's objectives were threefold. In addition to meteorite
recovery, ice samples have been collected as part of a microbiology study
for the University of Innsbruck (Austria), NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center and the University of Alabama. The third project was an educational
outreach effort that connected students from Chicago-area elementary schools
and Harper College with team members via satellite and online forums.

"I am proud to say that the expedition team has achieved all three missions
with a high degree of success," stated Professor Paul Sipiera, the
expedition leader.

The expedition was offered in partnership with PSF and Adventure Network
International (ANI), the only organization in the world providing
private-sector services to the Antarctic interior since 1985.

For interviews with team members please contact Tereza Predescu at
press-requests_at_spaceadventures.com. Expedition images and video footage will
be made available upon request.

Space Adventures Expedition Team Members

Paul Sipiera - Expedition Leader (Chicago)
Paul is a Professor of Geology and Astronomy at William Rainey Harper
College in Palatine, Illinois and the President of the Planetary Studies
Foundation. Previously he was a member of the U.S. Antarctic Research
Program as a field scientist for the Antarctic Search for Meteorites
Project.

Dave Butts (Algonquin)
Dave is currently a business partner in Redblock Knowledge Systems
Corporation, a software technology company that specializes in developing
high performance data systems for Internet based applications. Dave is also
the Vice-President and Director of the Planetary Studies Foundation.

Elvira Butz (Winnetka)
Elvira is a member of the Explorers Club, and has traveled to many of the
world's most remote locales, from exploring the Amazonian Basin to diving to
the hydrothermal Vents near the Azores. Her primary interests are
anthropology and ethnobotany.

Charles Duffy (New York)
Charles Duffy, former photographer, is now a venture capitalist based in
Buffalo, New York.

Richard Garriott (Texas)
Richard co-founded Origin Systems, producer of the Ultima line of computer
games. An avid adventure traveler, he aspires to become the first second
generation astronaut - his father Owen Garriott having flown on both Apollo
Skylab and the Space Shuttle.

Kelly Miller (Texas)
Kelly has been on expeditions to Africa, has flown to 85,000 feet in a
MiG-25, and is the deepest diving female on record at a depth of 4,810
meters while on the Atlantic Sands Expedition.

Art Mortvedt (Alaska)
Art is a bush pilot and registered guide operating the Peace of Selby
Wilderness lodge north of the Arctic Circle and a member of the Explorers
Club and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. This will be his 14th
polar expedition.

James N. Pritzker (Chicago)
COL (IL) James N. Pritzker, ARNG (retired) is President and Chief Executive
Officer of Tawani Enterprises, President and Chairman of the Board of Tawani
Charitable Foundation, Inc., and serves on the Board of the Planetary
Studies Foundation. This will be his second expedition to Antarctica and
this time he hopes to find his own meteorite.

Birgit Sattler (Austria)
Birgit is a research assistant at the University of Innsbruck, Austria,
where she is leading the "Microbiology in Ice and Snow" working group.
During the expedition, Birgit will be taking ice and snow samples to further
her project and will participate in the meteorite recovery. Birgit has
dreamt of visiting the Antarctic continent since she was a child.

Eric Tilenius (California)
Eric is an avid traveler and a high tech guru. He has held management
positions with Oracle Corporation and Intuit Inc., and has served as a
management consultant for strategy consulting firm Bain & Company. Eric is
currently on the Board of Directors of The Mars Society as well as on the
Board of Trustees of the International Space University in Strasbourg,
France.

About Space Adventures Ltd.
Founded in 1997, Space Adventures Ltd. is the world's leading space tourism
company providing the public with opportunities to experience space today.
For more information about Space Adventures, visit www.spaceadventures.com
or call 1-888-85-SPACE/703-524-7172.

The company's advisory board comprises Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin;
shuttle astronauts Guy Gardner, Kathy Thornton, Robert (Hoot) Gibson,
Charles Walker, Norm Thagard, and Byron Lichtenberg; and Skylab astronaut
Owen Garriott.
Received on Wed 20 Feb 2002 08:10:28 PM PST