Valentine's day is a horrible time to say goodbye, but the time has come, almost 3 months after we started this journal, to close the books on the 2001-2002 ANSMET season. The last few of CWRU's antarctic children have found their way home; Nancy Chabot arrived a few days ago, Cari Corrigan today. It's always an interesting transition from life in the field to life in the civilized world, and yet another difficult transition looms- we have to change focus from the wonderful season just finished to the next, starting the 10 month planning process all over again. Every year it's a new love, a new springtime to look forward to.

But before we completely forget the season we just finished, I'd like to recount a few memorable things. The Meteorite Hills trip was our 25th field season, our silver anniversary. We're very proud to have made consistent contributions to science consistently for a quarter century, providing the larger planetary science community with opportunities to make fundamental new discoveries year in and year out. While only time (and some serious laboratory characterization) will tell us if any truly unusual specimens were recovered, there's no doubt that the samples we collected add to science's collective understanding of the solar system. Our final tally of specimens was 336, and we all hope there are some truly unique things to be learned from them. For those of you who wish to follow the meteorite specimens as they are described and made available to the research community, please check the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter site http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/amn/amn.htm periodically. The 2001-2002 Meteorite Hills specimens will start showing up in late summer, with names beginning with MET 01xxx.

On the human side, the season definitely added a few new items to the ANSMET book of experiences. New provisions like a work tent, a poop tent and a satellite phone increased our level of camp comfort, lowering the level of isolation and daily exposure. At the same time, unprecedented winds reminded us that no matter how much gear and preparation is in hand, we are still vulnerable, warm-blooded, and relatively hairless mammals who need courage to persevere.

Not the least of these new additions was this website, which gave us a forum to express the delight and excitement of scientific discovery on a daily basis. I hope all of you enjoyed this website as much as we enjoyed contributing to it- and I hope you'll all tune in next year as we do it again.

Some thanks are in order. Neither the satellite phone nor the website would have existed without the amazing efforts of Tim Harincar, creator of WebExpeditions. His interest in what we do, and his belief it should be shared with the public, helped turn speculative ideas into a serious outreach mission. Tim in turn had help from the Minnesota Astronomy Society and the Minnesota Space Frontier Society that helped cover some truly "astronomical" phone bills. Our program managers at NSF (Scott Borg) and NASA (Joe Boyce) worked hard to help this season reach its final shape in spite of some difficult bureaucratic wrangling, and the folks at Raytheon (Steve Dunbar, Alana Jones, Robbie Score) seamlessly turned our chaotic plans into solid logistical support. All of us (but perhaps me most of all) are extremely grateful for the help and support we have received, this year and in the past.

Finally, our thanks to all of you that sent us comments and stayed tuned. Every person in the field party hangs on tightly to the thin strands that tie us back to the family and friends back home; it's our lifeline against loneliness. By reading this website and communicating with us, each of you added a strand or two, creating a nice strong braid that kept us secure. Thank you!