A new home for meteorites discovered in Antarctica

20 December 2011 Last updated at 22:45 ET Help

A team of scientists has reached Antarctica as the annual hunt for meteorites gets under way. Nicknamed the poor man's space programme, the US Ansmet project is backed by Nasa and is now in its 35th year.

Although all parts of the Earth are bombarded by meteorites, most land in the south pole where the climate helps preserve them offering scientists a continuing and relative cheap supply of space rocks.

This year they will be taken to a new facility at the Smithsonian Institution in Maryland where they can be studied by geologists from all over the world. Jane O'Brien reports.

Read More

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.