Antarctica's meteorite 'conveyor belt'

The go-ahead has been given for the first British expedition to collect meteorites in Antarctica.

Most of the space rocks now in collections worldwide have been picked up on the continent.

The region's great expanse of ice makes searching for the blackened remains of objects that have fallen from the sky a particularly productive exercise.

But the UK venture will target a strangely underrepresented class of meteorites - those made of iron.

Manchester University's Dr Katherine Joy spoke with our correspondent Jonathan Amos.