A meteorite hunter has been celebrated for his remarkable contribution to science. Robert Towers has made the biggest contribution ever to the South Australian Museum's meteor collection.
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00:00These celestial rocks can help scientists understand the origins of life itself.
00:08These are basically the building blocks of the Earth.
00:11The beautiful outback expanse of the Nullarbor Plain is one of the best places on Earth to find meteorites.
00:18Former geophysicist Robert Towers has found himself drawn to the region time and time again,
00:24meticulously mapping his way around the remote piece of Earth until he strikes it lucky.
00:31And this is how he celebrates the big ones.
00:34I just went crazy about it. I just wanted to go out as often as I could.
00:39And I always like wandering around picking stuff up, like kids do, finding things.
00:45And what a find.
00:47Mr Towers has single-handedly discovered the biggest collection of meteorites South Australia has ever seen.
00:54The strike rate isn't all that common, and so therefore for somebody to find almost 140 meteorites in the last 15, 20 years is incredible.
01:07By law, all meteorites found in South Australia are property of the Crown and must be lodged with the Museum's collections.
01:15Mr Towers has earned himself a commemorative medallion for his significant contribution.
01:20Meteorites are incredibly important to us, and they teach us a lot about the formation of the solar system, formation of our Earth.
01:29The majority of all these space rocks get burnt away in the Earth's atmosphere, so it's rare to find large fragments like this one.
01:37You're just over the moon. You've just found something that's come from space and has been around before the Earth was formed, before life, before everything.
01:47So how could you be more thrilled?
01:49The joy of discovery.