
NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
Recipient: |
|
Initial Amendment Date: | July 31, 2009 |
Latest Amendment Date: | February 6, 2012 |
Award Number: | 0839168 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Alexandra Isern
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
Start Date: | August 1, 2009 |
End Date: | July 31, 2013 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $600,001.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $600,001.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
ARRA Amount: | $600,001.00 |
History of Investigator: |
|
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
10900 EUCLID AVE CLEVELAND OH US 44106-4901 (216)368-4510 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
Primary Place of Performance: |
10900 EUCLID AVE CLEVELAND OH US 44106-4901 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
Parent UEI: |
|
NSF Program(s): | ANT Earth Sciences |
Primary Program Source: |
|
Program Reference Code(s): |
|
Program Element Code(s): |
|
Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Since 1976, under the auspices of an inter-agency agreement between NSF, NASA and the Smithsonian Institution, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) has recovered nearly 17,000 meteorite specimens from locations along the Transantarctic Mountains. This proposal requests support for continued recovery of Antarctic meteorites through systematic searches for meteorite specimens at previously discovered stranding surfaces. Minor reconnaissance efforts will also take place seeking to discover and explore the extent of new locations with potential meteorite concentrations. The meteorites recovered by ANSMET are the best and most reliable source of new, non-microscopic extraterrestrial material, providing essential "ground-truth" concerning the materials that make up the asteroids, planets, and other bodies of our solar system. ANSMET meteorites have helped researchers explore the conditions that were present in the nebula from which our solar system was born about 4.5 billion years ago, and provided samples of asteroids ranging from primitive bodies unchanged since the formation of the solar system to complex, geologically active miniature planets. ANSMET samples also proved, against the conventional wisdom, that some meteorites actually represent planetary material delivered to the Earth from the Moon and Mars, changing our view of the geology of those bodies. ANSMET meteorites have even generated a new kind of inquiry into one of the most fundamental scientific questions possible - the prevalence of biological activity in the universe as a whole. Continued reliance on students provides a broader impact to this proposed research and firmly grounds this effort in its educational mission.
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.