Iturralde Crater, Bolivia Click Image to Enlarge  (JPG) (472 KB) ( 1,192 x 998 )

NASA scientists will venture into an isolated part of the Bolivian Amazon to try and uncover the origin of an 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 NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., the Iturralde Crater Expedition 2002 will be led by Dr. Tim Killeen of Conservation International, which is based in Bolivia. Killeen will be assisted by Dr. Compton Tucker of Goddard. 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 was indeed created by a meteor. The simulated natural color ASTER image was acquired on June 29, 2001 and covers an area of 17.9 x 15.0 km. This image is located at 12.5 degrees south latitude, 67.5 degrees west longitude.