Private purchase of meteorite 10,000 pieces 1 gram. Even a meteorite purchased from Indonesia by the Texas Institute for the Moon and Planet research is worth $1.85 million, or nearly $12 million.
A collector in Beijing, who offered 40 million yuan, directly acquired one of China's best black treasure green meteorites.
A meteorite is so valuable that many "meteorite hunters" are moving in the wind and scrambling to search for traces of meteorites.
Yang Kexin, a post-90s girl in Guizhou, also joined in and opened a five-year-long "star chasing record".
In the past 5 years, she has entered and exited Lop Nur 124 times, traveled through 130,000 kilometers of Gobi no man's land, and passed by the god of death three times. In the face of hardships, she picked up more than 600 meteorites, weighing more than 400 kilograms.
More than 400 kilograms of meteorite, if it is sold, Yang Kexin can definitely become a proper rich woman.
But Yang Kexin did not do this, instead, she made a surprising decision:
Refuse all sky-high acquisitions, bring these meteorites back to their hometown, and open a public welfare meteorite science museum.
Yang Kexin
So, why is this Guizhou girl willing to overcome many difficulties and crises and spend five years of youth searching for these meteorites? In the end, why did you refuse the sky-high acquisition and open a public welfare meteorite science museum instead? Today, what is the current situation of Yang Kexin?
Become a meteorite hunter and become a "meteorite hunter"
Yang Kexin was born in 1990 in a small mountain village in Yinjiang Autonomous County, Guizhou.
Since he was a child, Yang Kexin likes to lie on the bamboo rocking chair in the courtyard at night to watch the stars, and whenever the meteors pass by, Grandpa will always say to the young Yang Kexin that if you make a wish to the shooting stars, the wish can be fulfilled.
Therefore, at that time, Yang Kexin was always looking forward to seeing the next meteor shower soon.
These stars shining in the sky have become the most beautiful memories of Yang Kexin's childhood.
Perhaps since this time, Yang Kexin has begun to dream of having a star of his own in the future.
Later, Yang Kexin was admitted to college with excellent results, and she chose her favorite ore major without thinking, and became a representative of coal mine electrical equipment after graduation.
Until 2012, Yang Kexin went to Hami to be stationed abroad because of his work transfer. It was this experience that allowed Yang Kexin to realize her dream of having a star in Hami, completely bonded with meteorites, and changed her life at the same time.
Yang Kexin
Xinjiang Hami is close to Lop Nur and because of its unique geographical environment and geological structure, many coal and iron ore have come into being here. And here, there are many precious meteorites hidden.
Therefore, stone-picking activities are very popular in Hami, and many meteorite enthusiasts and collectors often come here to find treasures and try their luck.
When Yang Kexin was stationed abroad in Hami, he would also use his leisure time to go to the Gobi with his colleagues to pick up stones and play around, so he met many stone friends.
Not only that, Yang Kexin also added some stone friends to exchange various knowledge about meteorites and search for meteorites in the group. All this makes Yang Kexin yearn for meteorites, and she hopes that one day she can also have a meteorite of her own.
Suddenly, one day, a stone friend broke a message in the group: a stone friend picked up the real meteorite and passed the expert appraisal!
This made Yang Kexin excited, growing so big, he had only seen them at night when he looked at the sky, he didn't expect that someone really picked up stones successfully, this was the first time he had heard about it. So Yang Kexin immediately looked for the contact information of the stone friend, wanting to find him to admire the meteorite he picked up in person.
After a while, Yang Kexin really contacted the Shi You, and Shi You also happily agreed to Yang Kexin's request.
A few days later, Yang Kexin finally saw the meteorite he was dreaming of.
Is this the star I have been dreaming of since I was a child? When the heavy meteorite was placed in Yang Kexin's hand, she gently stroked its texture. At this moment, Yang Kexin completely fell in love with this meteorite.
The idea of "having a star of your own" is no longer vague in Yang Kexin's mind.
She made up her mind: no matter what, she must have her own star!
Yang Kexin learned from this stone friend that he was originally a meteorite hunter, and this meteorite was found in the center of Lop Nur. You know, Lop Nur is a Gobi, the climate is harsh, it is simply a crisis, not to mention whether meteorites can be found. In addition to its own physical strength and skill, this is still a matter of luck.
But Yang Kexin didn't have the kung fu and mental strength to think about it so much, since he became a meteorite hunter, he had a chance to find the meteorite, so he also had to join!
Yang Kexin's idea was immediately stopped by Shi You. Hunting meteorites is originally a chore, it has always been done by a group of rough masters, and girls like Yang Kexin can do it. In case there is another accident along the way, it is really not worth the loss.
In the face of the questions of the stone friends, Yang Kexin immediately said: "I will do whatever you want, I will not be arrogant, as long as I can take me to hunt meteorites, I can prove it to you!" ”
Since then, Yang Kexin has begun to participate in various physical exercises to improve his physical fitness, and will consult and learn a large number of materials about meteorites, and learn professional methods of finding and identifying meteorites.
It is this process that makes Yang Kexin understand the unique beauty of the meteorite itself and the scientific research value it has.
Yang Kexin's hard work day after day finally paid off.
In October 2012, Yang Kexin received an invitation from Shi Friends to go to Lop Nur to hunt meteorites together.
Yang Kexin, who is only 22 years old, finally became a meteorite hunter and began her five-year-long "star chasing".
Yang Kexin holds a meteorite in his hand
Five years of "chasing the stars" are full of dangers, but fortunately, the harvest is very rich
Yang Kexin, who received the invitation, felt like he was dreaming, and this feeling was really too unreal. Have you really been accepted? Can I really become a meteorite hunter and go meteor hunting with everyone? Does this mean that you are getting closer and closer to the star that belongs to you?
Yang Kexin repeatedly confirmed it over and over again, and the excitement in his heart was overflowing with words.
Yang Kexin, 22, does not yet know that he will pay his five years of youth for these meteorites.
After that, Yang Kexin, who was in a good mood, immediately began to prepare for this meteor hunting operation.
Yang Kexin
You know, Lop Nur has always been known as the Sea of Death, the surface temperature is as high as 45 degrees Celsius all year round, and if you are not careful, there will be sunburn and heat stroke. Coupled with the wind and sand, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and once an accident occurs, the consequences are simply unimaginable.
Therefore, Yang Kexin immediately packed up the GPS and metal detectors, brought tools such as veils and eye masks, and carefully checked his list of items. Once you've confirmed that there is no mistake, you'll head to the designated location to meet the team.
After all the convergence was completed, this small team of four people, plus Yang Kexin, embarked on a journey to Lop Nur at four o'clock in the morning to hunt meteorites.
In this team, there is no shortage of elderly people who have experience in hunting meteorites many times.
The reason why we leave at 4:00 a.m. is to avoid the high temperature exposure when arriving in Lop Nur and to facilitate the get off the bus and search on foot.
Sure enough, when Yang Kexin and his party arrived at the meteorite scattering belt in Lop Nur, the sun had just come out.
Under the leadership of other Shi You, Yang Kexin wrapped up his clothes like them, and brought sunscreen tools such as veils and eye masks. Taking the metal detector on the ground, he began to search intensively.
Hours passed, and everyone still found nothing.
Despite holding advanced instruments, meteorites are not everywhere, and the discovery of meteorites is originally a small probability event, and whether it can be found can only rely on luck and experience. Such a job, similar to finding a needle in a haystack, is certainly not an easy task to do.
Until noon, even in the middle of the night, Yang Kexin still found nothing.
She never expected that her first meteor hunting operation would be such a failure, and she had been following the end of the line in frustration. But I didn't notice that the stone friends had already driven away.
By the time Yang Kexin returned to His senses, the Stone Friends had already disappeared without a trace.
Seeing that the sky is getting darker and darker, and I don't have any experience in surviving in the wild, when night falls, whether it is the temperature difference between day and night here, or the ferocious beasts that haunt at night, I can kill myself in Huangquan.
I was still waiting for the stone friends to save myself.
Yang Kexin, who had a firm idea, immediately leaned against a stone and sought comfort for himself.
It wasn't until the last glimmer of light in the sky was about to fade away that the stone friends finally drove back here. They searched yang Kexin's trail carefully, and finally found her behind this stone.
At this moment, Yang Kexin's tears burst out.
After repairing for one night, Yang Kexin followed the stone friends to start another search.
This time, they changed directions.
Some time later, Yang Kexin found a black stone on a Gobi Desert that matched the characteristics of meteorites. She immediately picked up the stone and looked at it repeatedly, and also called a more experienced stone friend to identify it, and finally determined that it was a meteorite.
At that moment, Yang Kexin finally showed a long-lost smile and danced happily.
He finally had the first meteorite in his life, which was the star that belonged to him, although it was only 20 grams, it became Yang Kexin's most cherished treasure.
After this, Yang Kexin's search for meteorites has become more enthusiastic, as long as she has spare time after work, she has spent all of it on meteorite hunting.
Yang Kexin often goes to Lop Nur because it is full of Gobi, and there is a greater possibility of finding meteorites. In addition, numerous meteorite scattering belts and the Taklamakan Desert and Qinghai Mangya are Yang Kexin's targets.
Yang Kexin slowly grew up in this way, from an inexperienced Xiaobai to an experienced "meteorite hunter".
Yang Kexin
Through the desert Gobi, Yang Kexin often gets lost, encountering extreme weather such as sandstorms, strong day and night temperature differences and almost burned exposure to the sun, which makes her suffer a lot.
But Yang Kexin gritted his teeth and persevered, and once he insisted, it was five years.
In the five years of Hami, Yang Kexin picked up more than 600 pieces of various meteorites, weighing more than 400 kilograms, which was a huge harvest.
So why did Yang Kexin persist for five years? Since it is not easy for her to get these meteorites, why would she refuse to buy them at a sky-high price, but instead take out all her savings, and even borrow money to open a public welfare meteorite science museum?
Refuse the sky-high acquisition, return to his hometown to open a public welfare science museum
Five years have passed, and Yang Kexin has gained a lot in Hami.
In 2017, Yang Kexin left Hami again for work reasons and returned to his hometown of Guizhou with these meteorites.
After returning to Guizhou, Yang Kexin did not sell the meteorite in his hands like a normal meteorite hunter, and the information about the sky-high purchase of meteorites was also rejected by Yang Kexin.
Because from the beginning, Yang Kexin did not join this group with the idea of getting rich. She knew that the collectible value of these meteorites, especially scientific research, was far higher than its economic value.
In fact, before returning, Yang Kexin had donated some of the meteorites he found to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, contributing his strength to the deep space exploration in Guizhou.
Now that I'm back, since I don't want to make a fortune from meteorites, what are these meteorites going to do? After careful consideration, Yang Kexin finally decided to open a public welfare meteorite science museum at his own expense.
Yang Kexin
So Yang Kexin saved himself for many years, ready to buy a new house the down payment was all taken out, and the remaining ones were not enough to find relatives and friends to borrow, which made more than 600 meteorites home.
After that, Yang Kexin found Li Shijie, an expert from the Geological Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and asked him to come to him to give advice and jointly plan.
In June 2017, 27-year-old Yang Kexin finally founded and completed the first meteorite culture science popularization museum in southwest China, the Guizhou Meteorite Culture Science Popularization Museum, and served as the curator.
This science museum is completely free to the public, no tickets are required, and Yang Kexin has never made a profit from it. In addition, five docents were specially hired to explain to visitors.
She hopes that more people can understand meteorite culture, especially those children, and she hopes that children can be more interested in meteorite research and have the opportunity to contribute to deep space exploration in the future.
Meteorite Science Museum
Such a popular science museum, sometimes with Yang Kexin's strength alone is really difficult to support, many times the rent alone has to drag her down, family and friends are persuading Yang Kexin to give up.
But she said: This is a good thing, she would rather sell her house than stick to it.
To this end, Yang Kexin found a lot of part-time jobs for himself in his spare time to maintain the normal operation of the science museum, and some meteorite products will be sold in the museum. "After all, half is reality, half is ideal," she said. ”
With the passage of time, Yang Kexin's science museum is well known to more and more people, and the students and visitors of the school flock to the school every day. Even many people were touched by Yang Kexin's behavior and wanted to contribute to the spread of meteorite culture, and donated meteorite collections to the museum. The local government will also regularly subsidize Yang Kexin's science museum.
Five years have passed, Yang Kexin is still adhering to his original dream and running the science popularization hall well.
Sometimes they will also go to the campus to give public welfare and free science explanations of meteorite knowledge.
Yang Kexin is explaining to the visitors
"No matter how many difficulties there are in the future, I have to deal with it." As a custodian, I want to give full play to the true value of these meteorites, introduce more and more advanced meteorite instruments, and hold more activities to let everyone understand that meteorites not only have monetary value! ”
Today's Yang Kexin is still busy in his "star-chasing dream" and constantly leading more people to join.
As Yang Kexin, who was 31 years old at the time, said: "If you ask me what I should do when I am young, I will answer and go for a ride!" ”
Yang Kexin deserves the admiration of each of us, and I hope that Yang Kexin can get more recognition and help from more people in the future, so that her career will be more prosperous.
I also hope that each of us can be as brave as her to chase dreams, not for money and fame, and never forget the original intention.
For the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we will unswervingly struggle with the hopes of our predecessors.