[meteorite-list] Space Adventures Antarctic Meteorite Expedition

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:40 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C8698E5893_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

Hi Dean and List,

> Hmmm. That company has been running that trip every year. How
> is that "Once in a lifetime". Somebody must have a very short
> life span.

I think this is a different outfit than the ANSMET group, and is
privately funded. As for the $40,000 pricetag, you might be
surprised at what people would be willing to pay to see the
coldest, driest place on earth. Who else is going to take you
there? Unless you fly for the military, or you are a research
scientist studying polar ice cores or high energy particle
physics, you're not going to get there without spending some
major dough. There are a few mountaineering outfits that sponsor
annual climbs of Vinson Massif (for those interested in climbing
the "7 Summits" -- the highest points on each continent), but
those aren't cheap either.

If the price tag was more like $10,000, I would probably find some
way to afford to go. Indeed, I've given some thought to going
on an eclipse-chasing expedition there with a NASA group.

> "Freeze your ass off while providing free labour and huge funding
> to help the government find meteorites trip", then likely nobody
> would go.

Well, I'm not tax expert, but I'm betting you could get a good
chunk of that $40,000 back in the form of a tax right-off... --Rob
Received on Fri 04 Jan 2002 06:35:28 PM PST