This 7.6 kg meteorite that hit the Earth found in snow and ice

Antarctica is a tough place for survival, because it's very obvious it’s bitterly cold, remote, and wild. However, it is one of the best places in the world to hunt for meteorites. (ANI)

Antarctica becomes the best place for the meteorite hunters as the place is a desert, and its dry climate limits the degree of weathering the meteorites experience, ANI says. (Pixabay)

Even when meteorites sink into the ice, the glaciers' churning motion against the rock below helps re-expose the meteorites near the surface of the continent's blue ice fields. (Pixabay)

An international team of researchers who just got back from Antarctica can attest to the continent's meteorite-hunter-friendliness: they returned with five new meteorites, including one that weighs an astonishing 16.7 pounds (7.6 kg). (Pixabay)

A research scientist at the Field Museum and the University of Chicago, Maria Valdes  estimates that of the roughly 45,000 meteorites retrieved from Antarctica over the past century, only about a hundred or so are this size or larger. (Pixabay)

 "Finding a big meteorite like this one is rare, and really exciting," says Valdes. (Pixabay)

Valdes was one of four scientists on the mission, led by Vinciane Debaille of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (FNRS-ULB); the research team was rounded out by Maria Schonbachler (ETH-Zurich) and Ryoga Maeda (VUB-ULB). (Pixabay)

The team was the first to explore potential new meteorite sites mapped using satellite imagery by Veronica Tollenaar, a thesis student in glaciology at the ULB. (Pixabay)

The going was tough. Despite timing their trip for Antarctica's summertime in late December, temperatures hovered around 14° F (-10° C). (Pixabay)

In all, five meteorites were recovered by the team, and these will be analyzed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. (Pixabay)