Reprinted from ANSMET's website

Read about their current daily tasks on the ice: http://geology.cwru.edu/~ansmet/

One of the most important discoveries based on ANSMET meteorites was that some samples were actually derived not from the asteroids but from the moon and Mars. The conventional wisdom 20 years ago was that any specimens knocked off a planet- sized body by an impact would be altered beyond recognition if not completely vaporized.

This paradigm was completely overturned by the discovery of ANSMET meteorite ALH81005, an anorthositic breccia so similar to Apollo lunar highland's samples that all

investigators agreed it had to have come from the Earth's Moon. Since that time ANSMET has recovered 6 more lunar specimens, providing a random, global sample of the lunar surface, illustrating the global distribution of basaltic and anorthositic lithologies, and confirming bulk lunar characteristics

Since that time, several researchers have created models examining the pathways and predicting the number of meteorites that may be reaching our planet from various sources. Equally important was the discovery of new members of the SNC group of igneous

meteorites, whose young crystallization age distinguished them from "normal" achondrites. Speculation as to the parent planet of the SNC meteorites effectively ended when it was found that shock-produced glass in the ANSMET meteorite EET79001 contained a suite of trapped noble gases identical to the current atmosphere of Mars, as measured by the Viking landers. These specimens have become windows into the geology of Mars, as the only available samples from that planet.

In general terms, their study has provided an absolute chronology for igneous events on Mars; allowed direct study of the composition and properties of the Martian crust, core and bulk planet; provided information on the size and behavior of the volatile inventory of the planet; and showed the presence of organic compounds. In addition, the Martian meteorites provide the best possible "analog" for upcoming robotic and sample return missions to Mars.