Maine Museum Offers $25K Reward for Fallen Meteorite

A race to recover meteorites that recently landed in Maine has begun, with a museum offering a hefty reward. The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel is offering $25,000 to anyone who can find a meteorite that fell to Earth over the state.

Several meteorites have hit Maine in recent weeks, with radar recording the landing of one near Calais. The museum hopes that the reward will encourage people to keep an eye out and report any sighting or discovery of the space rocks.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for people to get involved in science and astronomy,” said Barbra Barrett, the museum’s co-founder. “We’re hoping this reward will inspire people to look up and be curious about what’s up there.”

Meteors and meteorites are a hot topic lately, with NASA’s Perseverance rover recently landing on Mars to search for signs of ancient life. Scientists are also eagerly awaiting the return of a sample of a near-Earth asteroid later this year.

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum is hoping that this race to find meteorites will further ignite interest in space exploration and science. Anyone who finds a meteorite in Maine is encouraged to take it to the museum for identification and to claim the reward.