In the pilot episode of Meteorite Men professional meteorite hunters Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold journey to their top secret site — code named "Alpha" — to search for mysterious pallasite meteorites. Later, they travel to the legendary Brenham, Kansas strewnfield and make a truly amazing discovery. Their expedition ends at the Gemological Institute of America in California, where the guys learn that their finds contain something rare and valuable, and never before seen in a meteorite.
In the first episode of Season One, Steve and Geoff head to the Great White North and investigate the Buzzard Coulee fireball which dropped hundreds of stone meteorites across Saskatchewan, Canada. As winter approaches an unexpected snowstorm forces a sudden change in plan. They move on to northern Alberta and receive a VIP invitation to explore the newly-discovered Whitecourt iron meteorite crater. Later, a visit with Dr. Chris Herd at the University of Alberta in Edmonton confirms the significance of their cold-weather finds.
Geoff and Steve arrive at the famous 63,000 year-old meteorite crater near Odessa, Texas with a dazzling array of the very latest hunting equipment: ground penetrating radar, a military bomb detector, and the mighty Rockhound — a go-anywhere amphibious tracked ride that gives new meaning to the phrase "all terrain vehicle." Braving temperatures in excess of 105 degrees, the guys use every trick and tactic in their search for space rocks, and stumble upon a most surprising discovery.
The Meteorite Men head south to Geoff's home state of Arizona and dig into the legend of the mysterious Tucson Ring — a giant iron meteorite found in the 1800s. Local lore insists that the Ring was only one of many meteorites hidden in the remote and dangerous Santa Rita Mountains. After encounters with scorpions, unexploded ammunition and blistering heat, the guys visit Dr. Laurence Garvie at the Center For Meteorite Studies at ASU to try and solve the enduring mystery.
Gold Basin, Arizona is one of the world's most famous meteorite strewnfields. For a decade Geoff and Steve have dreamed of exploring the nearly inaccessible northern end of the zone. To reach it, the Meteorite Men must take to the water and follow a secret treasure map bequeathed to them by their late friend and mentor, Professor Jim Kriegh, discoverer of the Gold Basin meteorite. The National Park Service pitch in and grant a special permit to hunt in a dangerous Federal preserve that is off-limits to the public.
Steve and Geoff team up with maverick meteorite hunter Sonny Clary for an unforgettable adventure in the Great Basin. Sonny and his dog Brix lead them to the site of a puzzling discovery, and the Meteorite Men come home with more than they bargained for. Also: a visit the Alamo Breccia where, 370 million years ago, a gigantic meteorite devastated what is now central Nevada. A close call with Area 51 and an enlightening lab visit with Dr. Garvie round out this fan-favorite episode.
While Steve investigates an office-smashing meteorite in Virginia, Geoff and his Aerolite team track an elusive fireball in heat-ravaged Arizona. Later, the Meteorite Men rendezvous in central Texas at the fall site of the daytime Ash Creek fireball, with fellow hunter Ruben Garcia and Hopper the Meteorite Dog. This action-packed episode ends with a trip to the world famous Tucson gem and mineral show, where the guys offer up some of their finds to help fund future expeditions.
In the Season Two opener Geoff and Steve return to their confidential "Alpha" site, but this time they have a new secret weapon. During a research and development visit to Orange County Choppers in New York, the help plan a monster meteorite hunting motorcycle, which is delivered to them by American Chopper star Paul Senior. With the help of their off-road bike, and experimental metal detectors, the guys follow the old Santa Fe trail and uncover a gemstone-laden monster space rock that dwarfs their previous Alpha finds.
In the first-ever overseas Meteorite Men episode Steve and Geoff revisit the very site where their hunting partnership began way back in 1997: the Imilac pallasite strewnfield high in Chile's Atacama Desert. They know meteorites are out there, but it's also winter at 11,000 feet in the driest desert on the planet. With new equipment and greater determination, the guys persevere through the harshest of conditions and — on the desolate plains of Vaca Muerta — make one of the most significant discoveries of their careers.
Geoff's "meteorite dream" comes true during this second Chile episode when the guys find their way to the Atacama Desert's remote Monturaqui Crater, and camp overnight on the floor of the stunning 100,000 year-old impact site. After a personal tour of the giant mountaintop telescopes at the European Southern Observatory in Paranal, the guys throw down with the puzzling San Juan strewnfield — a site that seems to have produced more meteorites per square mile than any other location on Earth.
When hundreds of people witness a spectacular night time fireball over Salt Lake City, Steve and Geoff drop everything and race to Utah. After days of searching and communicating with their Doppler radar expert, Rob Matson, the guys are horrified to conclude that any surviving meteorites must have landed on the top secret Dugway Military Proving Ground — an area so clandestine it is nicknamed Area 52. Geoff and Steve must go all the way to the Pentagon in an attempt to gain access to the classified army facility.
The guys are on their way to the Northeast Astronomy Forum in New York for a personal appearance, when a large fireball is seen over rural Wisconsin. Geoff heads on to NEAF to hold down the fort, while Steve begins an all-night drive to the fall site. Later, Geoff takes their Orange County Chopper to meet Steve, and together they attempt to solve the mystery of the Mifflin meteorite fall. Locals turn out in droves to try and find their own space rocks, and the guys have the chance to train the next generation of meteorite hunters.
Geoff and Steve cross the Arctic Circle and head north on one of their most daring expeditions yet. With the help of a brilliant Swedish meteorite-hunting family the guys will attempt to uncover ancient space rocks that were transported by glaciers during the last Ice Age, and which have remained hidden and buried for 60,000 years. As the Arctic winter approaches they have only a few days to test new equipment, explore the mysterious forests of Lapland, and try to solve the enigmatic puzzle of the Muonionalusta strewnfield.
Steve and Geoff head "Downunder" on the most ambitious expedition of their careers. On the far side of the world, they cross the Nullarbor Plain—one of the most desolate locations on Earth—and reach the remote Mundrabilla strewnfield. The guys team up with Australian meteorite specialist Dr. Andy Tomkins and discover that their campsite is right in the middle of the fall zone. With limited time and an enormous area to cover, the guys use every trick they know to find examples of the strange and beautiful Mundrabilla iron.
In the Season Two finale Geoff and Steve journey to one of the most remarkable meteorite sites on the planet—the Henbury Crater field in central Australia. During the expedition, the region receives its heaviest rainfall in 35 years and the guys have to overcome flooded roads, stranded vehicles, and other hazards as they search for remnants of the beautiful Henbury iron meteorite that—4,600 years ago—blasted 15 craters out of the stark and captivating red-sand desert.
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.
