Because meteorites stand out so well against the white snow/ice background of Antarctica, over 10,000 individual specimens have so far been recovered from this continent, despite its remoteness and the fact that it is unpopulated.
Expeditions set out every year during the brief Antarctic summer (January/February) to search for meteorites. They are generally found in areas of blue ice, ancient ice that rises around the coastal mountian barriers of Antarctica, such as Maud Dronning Land, Victoria Land and the Thiel Mountain range.
Common meteorites found are Achondrites and Pallasites, but some display unique characteristics and are chemically different from all known meteorites. On the basis of soil analyses from manned space missions and automated probes, some have been linked to ejecta from the Lunar highlands and from Mars.