The fact that Antarctica is rich in meteorites first became known in January 1961. Then Soviet geologists found two specimens on Queen Maud Land (the Atlantic coast of Antarctica). Later, the Japanese found several more fragments.
At the same time, scientists noticed that all the meteorites were close to each other and almost always lay on the very surface of the ice. As if someone specially poured them in one place to make it easier to collect.
“It turned out that in Antarctica there is a special mechanism for the concentration of meteorites in certain places,” said Viktor Grokhovsky, a member of the Committee on Meteorites of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a scientist who studied the Chelyabinsk meteorite. - The ice covering the continent is constantly moving - from the pole to the shores. In places where mountains are hidden under it, it rises and finds itself in the path of a very strong wind. First it breaks off the snow cover, then the ice turns into steam. As a result, all meteorites that fell to the Earth a thousand years ago and froze are on the surface.
That is, the continent itself collects them in one place? - we specify
- Yes. A similar thing happens in deserts, where the dunes, moving, spread all the meteorites, as if on a substrate. Thanks to this, at the beginning of the XXI century, meteorites were almost exported from Oman (a state bordering on Saudi Arabia - Ed.). It was enough to come to the desert in a jeep and just collect black stones. But all the deserts have now been combed. And in Antarctica, many unique specimens are still stored, among them there are fragments of the Moon and even Mars.
The first meteorite expeditions to Antarctica took place 35 years ago. The main place of work was the so-called Transantarctic mountain range. China, Belgium, Japan and the USA have already taken part in the search. But not Russia.
“In the eighties, we also wanted to send an expedition,” recalls Viktor Grokhovsky. - After the conquest of Everest, the climbers of our institute agreed to participate and were only waiting for a signal. But no one gave the go-ahead, because there was no money. As a result, 68% of all meteorites that are now being studied in laboratories around the world come from Antarctica. And among them there is not a single one that Russian scientists would find. We just weren't there yet.
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SPACE DUST IN ICE
The situation was changed after 2013, when the Chelyabinsk meteorite fell. Then our scientists were able to declare themselves to the whole world. Since then, their expeditions have been closely followed by the entire scientific community.
- We became known everywhere. Our expeditions to the places where meteorites fall began to attract more and more attention, - Viktor Grokhovsky proudly said. - As a result, when we announced our desire to study meteorites in Antarctica, we were officially included in the program of the 61st Russian Antarctic Expedition.
The team of participants has already been selected. Only six people, plus two understudies, in case, at the last moment, someone from the main team cannot fly. All are employees of the university, who have considerable mountaineering and sports training behind them. First, they must prepare the cargo that will go with them to Antarctica.
These are clothes, tents, and equipment with provisions. The total weight of the equipment is about 300 kilograms. In October, the luggage will be packed in special barrels and delivered to St. Petersburg, where it will be loaded onto the Akademik Fedorov ship, which serves the Russian Antarctic Expedition.
- After that, the ship will set off and will arrive in Cape Town in about a month. By this time, our guys will also fly there, - explains the scientist. - From there to Antarctica, they will be delivered along with the cargo by an Il-76 transport plane. This is the most expensive part of the journey. One way flight costs 12 thousand dollars. And this is still at current prices.
The expedition will arrive in Antarctica on December 3. The first stop will be the Russian Antarctic station Novolazarevskaya, located on the coast of Queen Maud Land. There, a special car with large wheels will await the Ural scientists, which will take them 150 kilometers inland - to the Voltat mountain range. All that remains is to set up camp and start collecting meteorites.
- How the process takes place: the search engine finds a meteorite on the ice surface, puts a checkbox next to it. After some time, a special expert, the most experienced of the expedition members, must confirm that this is indeed a meteorite. After that, the place, type and position of the sample are recorded and with the help of special gloves it is packed in a double sterile bag, continues Grokhovsky. “But the matter will not be limited to meteorites alone. Our task is to collect several barrels of ice in order to remove cosmic dust from it. The St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics will provide a special container for this.
The expedition will work a little over two weeks. Then they will return to Novolazarevskaya station and will arrive in Cape Town on January 19. But the found meteorites will arrive much later. They will be sent by ship in special refrigerators.
- After the expedition we will leave some of the equipment at the Novolazarevskaya station. We hope that we will come there again, and then it will be useful to us, - added Viktor Grokhovsky.
EXPEDITION MONEY IS COLLECTED ON THE INTERNET
To carry out all their plans, scientists need to collect more than 10 million rubles by the end of September. Most of this amount was allocated by the Ural Federal University. Another million has already been provided by partners. Sponsors will provide participants with clothing and food. The rest of the researchers hope to receive from citizens who are not indifferent to the fate of national science.
- The Union of UrFU Students has already announced a fundraiser on the Internet. In addition, in the spring, volunteers collected donations from the participants of the May Walk. In autumn, too, probably, a charity event will be organized, - says Viktor Grokhovsky. - We need this expedition not only to keep up with other countries. Meteorite research is intensively developing in Russia. And in Antarctica there are such rare specimens that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Including fragments of Mars, which are not yet in our storage.
To help organize the UrFU Antarctic meteorite expedition, you can send an SMS "urfu sum" to 3443. There are other ways of support. More information about them can be found on the official website of the Ural Federal University.
Danil SVECHKOV