ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) is a program funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation that looks for meteorites in the Transantarctic Mountains. This geographical area serves as a collection point for meteorites that have originally fallen on the extensive high-altitude ice fields throughout Antarctica. Such meteorites are quickly covered by subsequent snowfall and begin a centuries-long journey traveling "downhill" across the Antarctic continent while embedded in a vast sheet of flowing ice. Portions of such flowing ice can be halted by natural barriers such as the Transantarctic Mountains. Subsequent wind erosion of the motionless ice brings trapped meteorites back to the surface once more where they may be collected. This process concentrates meteorites in a few specific areas to much higher concentrations than they are normally found everywhere else. The contrast of the dark meteorites against the white snow, and lack of terrestrial rocks on the ice, makes such meteorites relatively easy to find. However, the vast majority of such ice-embedded meteorites eventually slide undiscovered into the ocean. History The first Antarctic meteorite was discovered during the 1911-14 Douglas Mawson Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Subsequent discoveries of three more were made in 1961 and 1964 by Russian geologists near Novolazarevskaya Station, and USGS geologists in the Thiel and Neptune Mountains. In 1969, Japanese explorers discovered nine meteorites at the Yamato Mountains, and 12 more during the 1973-74 season, 663 during the 1974-75 season, and 307 during the 1975-76 season. Based on that success, William A. Cassidy received funding for ANSMET to commence in the 1976-77 season. Cassidy was the Principal Investigator for the 1976-77 season, and subsequent seasons up to and including the 1993-94 season. Importance The ANSMET program, together with parallel Antarctic collection programs run by Japan, China, and other nations, is a major source of the extraterrestrial material that is available for scientific investigation. All of the material collected by ANSMET is curated for the purpose of research and public education, in contrast to meteorites collected privately, the bulk of which are frequently sold to collectors. As of 2003, ANSMET had collected 8409 chondrites and 234 achondrites, in addition to a Lunar meteorite ALH 81005, and the Martian meteorites EETA 79001, ALH77005 and ALH84001. Method The search for the meteorites is done visually. A team of four to ten explorers, typically meteorite scientists, lives for 5–7 weeks on the ice field. Using snowmobiles