Huge Haul of Extraterrestrial Material Recovered from Iranian Desert


Huge Haul of Extraterrestrial Material Recovered from Iranian Desert

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A scientist who found fame recovering a meteorite that crashed into Russia in 2013 has found 13 kilograms of meteorite-like material in Iran’s Lut desert.

Viktor Grokhovsky found the huge haul of the extraterrestrial material after leading a recent expedition to the Lut desert in Iran.

The arid conditions and unique landscape of the desert helped to preserve the unique meteorite matter, which is believed to originate from the birth of our solar system around 4.5 billion years ago.

The group of four geologists from Ural Federal University set out for the Lut desert, or Dasht-e-Lut, in search of evidence of meteorites - similar to the one that crashed to earth in an impressive fireball over the Russian town of Chelyabinsk in 2013.

The team, who all work for the Extra Terra Consortium laboratory, found 13 kilograms of meteorite-like material, with around 80 percent of the samples recovered believed to be of extraterrestrial origins.

It is thought that the fragments may have been part of a meteor shower, as at least 10 of the 70 samples collected belong to the same type of meteorite.

Professor Grokhosvky's team will be aided by colleagues from the University of Kerman in Souhtern Iran, one of two regions spanned by the Lut desert.

Half of the fragments found will remain in Iran, with the other half already back at the test lab in Russia.

Speaking to Sputnik News, Grokhosvky said, “The team managed to collect a sufficient number of extraterrestrial materials, with the support of their Iranian colleagues from the University of Kerman.” 

Viktor Grokhovsky is a member of the Committee on Meteorites at the Russian Academy of Sciences, a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation.

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