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Martian Meteorite Reveals Clues to Red Planet's Ancient Past
· Confirmed
In Short: A meteorite discovered in the Sahara in 2019, designated Northwest Africa 13441, has provided scientists with new insights into Mars' ancient past, according to Muslim Network TV and Sci.News.
A meteorite discovered in the Sahara in 2019, designated Northwest Africa 13441, has provided scientists with new insights into Mars' ancient past, according to Muslim Network TV and Sci.News.
Most known Martian meteorites belong to the shergottite group and date to roughly 600 million years ago, while only two specimens are believed to be about 2.4 billion years old.
Ethan Baxter, an Earth and environmental science professor at Boston College and a co-author of the study, noted that the meteorite’s characteristics were unexpected because no other Martian meteorite of the same type had previously been dated to 1.27 billion years.
The meteorite shares characteristics with shergottites but also contains traces of neodymium, a rare-earth element more commonly associated with chondritic material dating to the early formation of the solar system.
Researchers found that the meteorite helps address a major gap in the known record of Martian meteorites, as none had previously been dated between about 600 million and 2.4 billion years ago.
Although the other 10 meteorites in the group were between 327 and 600 million years old, meaning they were formed from cooling magma nearly half a billion years ago on the surface of Mars, NWA 7635 was found to be 2.4 billion years old.
The meteorite’s characteristics and age provide new clues to how Mars evolved and insight into the history of volcanic activity on the planet, according to study lead author Prof. Tom Lapen from the University of Houston.
Prof. Marc Caffee of Purdue University noted that cosmogenic nuclide data demonstrate that NWA 7635 was ejected from Mars 1.1 million years ago, as were at least 10 other depleted shergottites.
Caffee added that these meteorites are allowing scientists to conduct geologic science on the surface of Mars, and we haven’t even been there yet.
The meteorite’s discovery in Algeria has provided scientists with rare evidence from a largely unexplored period in the Red Planet’s geological history.
Valerie Payré, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, said the meteorite recorded the first stage of the evolution of Mars and, by extension, of all terrestrial planets, including the Earth.
The meteorite’s origin in Terra Cimmeria-Sirenum, one of the most ancient regions of Mars, offers insights into Earth’s past that were lost over billions of years of geological movement.
Background
A meteorite discovered in the Sahara desert in 2019, designated Northwest Africa 13441, has provided scientists with new insights into Mars' ancient past.
What's confirmed
- The meteorite, designated Northwest Africa 13441, was found in the Sahara in 2019.
- Most known Martian meteorites belong to the shergottite group and date to roughly 600 million years ago, while only two specimens are believed to be about 2.4 billion years old.
- Ethan Baxter, an Earth and environmental science professor at Boston College and a co-author of the study, said the meteorite’s characteristics were unexpected because no other Martian meteorite of the same type had previously been dated to 1.27 billion years.
- The meteorite is not the oldest Martian rock discovered on Earth, as some specimens date back more than 4 billion years.
- Of roughly 400 identified Martian specimens, none had previously been dated between about 600 million and 2.4 billion years ago.
- Researchers found that the meteorite shares characteristics with shergottites but also contains traces of neodymium, a rare-earth element more commonly associated with chondritic material dating to the early formation of the solar system.
- The discovery helps address a major gap in the known record of Martian meteorites.
- ALGIERS, Algeria (MNTV) — A Martian meteorite discovered in Algeria has been dated to 1.27 billion years ago, providing scientists with rare evidence from a largely unexplored period in the Red Planet’s geological history.
- “Our findings offer new clues to how Mars evolved and insight into the history of volcanic activity on the planet,” said study lead author Prof. Tom Lapen, from the University of Houston.
- Northwest Africa (NWA) 7635 — a Martian meteorite found in Algeria in 2012 — has given planetary researchers information about volcanic activity on the Red Planet, and it’s not like anything we’ve ever seen on Earth.
- The largest Martian volcano, Olympus Mons, is nearly 17 miles high.
- Although the other 10 meteorites in the group were between 327 and 600 million years old, meaning they were formed from cooling magma nearly half a billion years ago on the surface of Mars, NWA 7635 was found to be 2.4 billion years old.
What's still developing
- Fragments of these rocks crossed Earth’s orbit and fell as meteorites.
- Much of what we know about the composition of rocks from volcanoes on Mars comes from meteorites found on Earth.
- However, more than 4.5 billion years ago, it’s possible the Red Planet had a crust comparable to Iceland today.