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On March 7, a meteor the size of a van traveled the sky at about nine miles per second before splitting and splashing in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Now scientists are painting the seas for pieces of rock space, EarthSky reported. And you can join the team for the ride while they live their adventure.
If this succeeds, it will be the time when someone has recovered a meteorite from the ocean, to the knowledge of the researchers.
NASA scientists are among those who hunted fragments of the ship E / V Nautilus from the Ocean Exploration Trust. NASA's global scientist Marc Fries has delineated an ocean region of 0.4 mile to about 330 feet deep to chase meteorites.
At about two tons of mass, it is the largest meteorite fall recorded by 21 years of radar data.
Around 12:00 pm ET, the team goes lanch a remote-controlled vehicle (ROV) for underwater weather research. The vehicle will use cameras, sonar-like instruments and "magnetic rods" to search for meteorites, which are usually high in iron, reported Mashable. The team is looking for the National Marine Sanctuary of the Olympic Coast off the coast of Washington
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The Fries and the 39 team hope to spy the space rocks with their
Fries, who is a cosmic dust conservator at NASA, has seen space debris falling from the sky on a weather radar. They were not as fragile as meteorites, and did not separate as often as you normally would, Mashable reported.
"This one is special," said Fries. "This one is harder than your typical meteor." Getty Images
The largest detected piece measures approximately five inches in diameter and a mass of about 10 pounds, Open Explorer [NationalGeographic[19659015] reported . It is thought that some parts of the ocean floor are lined with tiny rocks – scientists estimate that two or three meteorites of at least 0.4 oz of mass sit every 110 square feet at the heart of the fall site .
Meteorites could offer scientists a glimpse of the early days of our planet. They offer chemical clues to the conditions of the young solar system.
Scientists race to find the rocks of space because they can degrade under the water. Although it takes thousands of years of exposure to a temperate climate to destroy meteorites, their chances under the ocean are thinner because of damaging salt water.
NASA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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