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Re: Meteorite Falls

>> Especially when Mars rocks were found.
>> Would they have continued (for long) if they didn't find any Mars material?  

>Yes they would. Antarctica provides an (almost) unique record of meteorite 
falls 
>over a long period of time, which gives scientists some idea of whether the 
>meteorite flux has been constant of varying. 

True. The Antarctic provides a whole range of meteorites, common and
uncommon, concentrated in a relatively small area.  While the Mars
meteorites are important, there are many other interesting meteorites
as well.

>Only a handful of Martian meteorites have ever been recovered from Antarctica - 
>too few to justify the cost of recovery. The issues surrounding Antarctic 
>meteorites are far more complicated than the simple desire to secure a few 
>Martian rocks.

Six of the known 12 Mars meteorites have been recovered from the Antarctic.
In fact, the last 6 Mars meteorites came from there.  The last non-Antarctic
meteorite was Zagami which fell in 1962.  You don't
know ahead of time what kind of meteorite will be recovered from the
Antarctic, but as long as you keep looking there you're bound to find
new Mars meteorites.  And again, the other meteorites are scientifically
important as well.

Ron Baalke