NASA Scientists Determined to Unearth Origin of the Iturralde Crater

NASA scientists will venture into an isolated part of the Bolivian Amazon to try and uncover the origin of a 5-mile (8 kilometer) diameter crater there known as the Iturralde Crater. Traveling to this inhospitable forest setting, the Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 will seek to determine if the unusual circular crater was created by a meteor or comet.

Organized by Dr. Peter Wasilewski of Goddard, the Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 will be led by Dr. Tim Killeen of Conservation International, which is based in Bolivia. Dr. Compton Tucker of Goddard will assist Killeen.

The team intends to collect and analyze rocks and soil, look for glass particles that develop from meteor impacts and study magnetic properties in the area to determine if the Iturralde site, discovered in the mid-1980s with satellite imagery, was indeed created by a meteor.

If a meteorite is responsible for the impression, rocks in the area will have shock features that do not develop under normal geological circumstances. The team will also look for glass particles, which develop from the high temperatures of impact.

For the complete article on study of the meteor crater, go to: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020904icecrater.html