[meteorite-list] Mobile Meteorite Command Center

From: Adam Hupe <raremeteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Sep 19 16:08:04 2006
Message-ID: <012b01c6dc1e$c0126b40$6401a8c0_at_c1720188a>

Dear List,

A number of List members expressed an interest in meeting up in Mojave
Desert for the third annual Team LunarRock Mojave hunt last year but it was
cancelled due to logistics problems. I have been dreaming for over five
years now about setting up remote capabilities that would allow a group of
hunters to spend months in the field. I explored all kinds of ideas
including a toy-hauler, fifth-wheel or a trailer behind a class-A motorhome
but each one had issues. I finally decided to go with a straight trailer and
a one ton dually truck.

I decided on this configuration for several reasons. There are many areas
that you cannot access with a class A or C motorhome. Several dry lake beds
are hard to get on and off of without four wheel drive. I could not imagine
launching quad runners from a toy-hauler on some of these lakebeds, it would
simply get stuck. I felt it would be far easier to launch from the back of a
truck and leave the trailer at some hopefully nearby camping area where it
can act as a base. I still need to have a custom rack built for the truck so
that two Honda FourTraxs can be hauled and launched sideways from the truck
bed. They are simply too big to haul a pair in one truck bed without this
modification. This would also leave the bottom of the truck bed open for
storing two Kona mountain bikes for those lake beds that do not allow motor
vehicle traffic.

I finally stepped up and acquired what I think will be the ultimate Mobile
Meteorite Command Center (MMCC). It is a Custom 28 foot Zepplin travel
trailer with an 18 foot slide out bar/lounge (Strategy gathering area) and a
crews' quarters bunkhouse in the back. It will be equipped with broadband
satellite communications, FM communications and GPS telemetry gathering
capabilities not to mention remote imaging capabilities from a survey drone
(good for spotting white BLM trucks and competitors remotely with 60fps and
~10 mile down link capabilities). In reality, the drone will be neat for
getting arial shots and looking at conditions ahead. No, it will not be used
to try to spot meteorites from the air, not a very practical idea.

Team LunarRock sponsored custom MMCC:
http://themeteoritesite.com/MMCC-1.jpg
http://themeteoritesite.com/MMCC-2.jpg
http://themeteoritesite.com/MMCC-3.jpg

Wet bar and lounge for celebrating finds and strategy gathering:
http://themeteoritesite.com/WetBarLounge.jpg

Find showcase:
http://themeteoritesite.com/Showcase.jpg

I am hoping to have the MMCC field-ready in a couple of months. We are
gathering equipment for field experiments on meteorites which should prove
to be pretty interesting. Two well-known scientists will be joining us for
part of the Mojave tour so it should prove to be pretty interesting this
year. Although we will have magnetic canes and metal detectors, we will be
exploring alternate ways of locating meteorites including a meteorite
sniffing dog one searcher will have hopefully trained by then. Maybe the dog
could be trained to find achondrites. One method which I will keep secret
until it is field tested and proven is looking very promising becuase metal
and attraction to a magnet are not part of the formula.

I do not have firm dates set yet and I am way over budget but hope to get an
idea in the upcoming weeks. Several List members have been on previous
Mojave hunts with Team LunarRock and a few have made their first finds ever
including myself. I will post updates and answer questions as the project
progresses. We hope to have more than the 9 hunters that showed up for the
2004 hunt for 2006. I will post locations throughout the tour so that if
anybody is interested they can meet up with us in the field for however long
their itinerary will allow.

Happy Hunting,

Adam
Received on Tue 19 Sep 2006 03:06:44 PM PDT