Meteorite Men

5,000 years ago an enormous meteorite cascaded over Poland scarring the landscape with seven massive craters. For the first time, Geoff and Steve receive exclusive access to investigate the magnificent Morasko crater field. The guys employ the expertise of Dr. Andrzej Muszynski of Adam Mickiewicz University in order to navigate through the 136 acre nature preserve, but a minefield of obstacles and an unexpected rainstorm may stand between the Meteorite Men and a potential record breaking find.

In this episode of METEORITE MEN, Geoff and Steve make their epic return to northern Sweden in order to reclaim victory north of the Arctic Circle. Only the irresistible Muonionalusta irons could lure these guys back to the land of the midnight sun to endure swarms of mosquitoes, swampy terrain, and a unique array of meteor-wrongs. On their last trip, the guys made a miraculous 175-pound haul, and this time armed with an arsenal of new technologies and innovative strategies the guys expect to surpass last year's bounty.

Geoff may think he has become part of his favorite childhood TV series Thunderbirds after a call from the University of Alberta. Respected scientist, Dr. Chris Herd, asks the Meteorite Men to fly to the rescue of Whitecourt Crater and recover irreplaceable specimens before they are stolen by meteorite poachers. Forming an unusual partnership, the Meteorite Men and Canadian academia team up in a race against time to record priceless scientific data before it is lost forever. Also: Steve loses his magnets and Geoff unveils a new detector.

Geoff's paternal grandparents were born near Minsk and he is thrilled at the opportunity to return to Mother Russia for the first time in twelve years. Once they reach the strewnfield, he and Steve must contend with giant biting flies, heaps of buried trash, and the 24-Hour Party People (AKA the Russian meteorite hunting team), while searching for an extremely rare type of iron meteorite. Also: Geoff blathers on about his hero, Yuri Gagarin, and Steve stays up all night drinking vodka with the Russians in a forest.

The guys return to Geoff's adopted home state of Arizona, gunning their go-anywhere meteorite hunting machine "The Mule" down historic Route 66 and give themselves a nearly impossible challenge: Can they find meteorites in two different strewnfields in one state on a single expedition? Steve and Geoff kick it old school and search primarily by eye while hiking into some of the roughest terrain in the Southwest. All at 107 degrees F! Also: Steve uses a freight train as a sunshade, Geoff makes friends with some ants, and fellow hunters Sonny Clary, Suzanne Morrison, and Nate Ditto join the team.

When a friend of Geoff's accidentally discovers a remarkable, and previously unknown, stone meteorite near the Mexican border, the guys head back to southern Arizona to investigate the new find. Local hunters, Greg and Wendy, join the MM in the field, as does Arizona State University meteorite specialist Dr. Laurence Garvie. A piece of the new meteorite goes through the exacting process of examination and classification in the ASU lab. Also, Geoff takes time out from the hunt to chat with a horned toad, and Steve learns the perils of riding a mountain bike in the Arizona desert.

In America's heartland Steve and Geoff explore the most inaccessible corners of the strewnfield in Homestead, Iowa, where numerous large meteorites fell in 1875. The Hydratrek "Rockhound" returns, and the guys go marine as they use it to motor up and down the Iowa River. Geoff and Steve have an argument about a strange rock, and then make a stop at their secret Alpha Site in Kansas, where Steve unveils his most bizarre meteorite hunting invention yet.

In the season finale Geoff and Steve return to Poland where, along with their friend Marcin, they investigate the Pultusk meteorite fall from 1868—one of the largest recorded falls in history. The ground is littered with debris from two world wars, and it seems that only a vintage Polish metal detector may be able to help them hunt in the trash-filled and waterlogged landscape. Later, the guys head to NASA's Dryden facility in California. After a tour of the amazing SOFIA airborne telescope, they discuss with NASA experts how the study of meteorites helped guide the American space program.