Martian Meteorite Found in the Sahara Is 4.1 Billion Years Old
Researchers say the 4.1-billion-year-old rock preserves evidence that water once moved through Mars’ crust and may point to habitable conditions.
- On Thursday, researchers published a study in Science characterizing Teghaza 001, a meteorite discovered in Mali that provides a rare snapshot of Mars' ancient crust and evidence of early water.
- Lead author Yang Liu of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory called the meteorite 'a witness to a time when Mars was likely warmer and wetter,' offering critical clues about the planet's habitability and ancient environmental history.
- Discovered in eight pieces, the nearly 800-gram rock differs from the 2.1 billion-year-old 'Black Beauty,' with unique igneous minerals indicating water percolated into the crust as it cooled and crystallized.
- Multiple lines of evidence in Teghaza 001 show hydrogen and oxygen isotopes confirm water percolated into Mars' deeper crust, bolstering the notion that primordial Mars may have been conducive to microbial life.
- Study co-author Lee Saper of NASA's Ames Research Center said the rock complements satellite data, revealing how early Mars' evolution diverged from Earth's when life was beginning on our planet.
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A rare window into the early history of Mars is being opened by the study of a meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert, Mali, in 2022. Teghaza 001, at least 4.1 billion years old, is considered the oldest of the 435 known Martian meteorites that have been found on Earth, according to the findings of scientific research published in the journal Science. The significance of the discovery is not limited to the age of the rock. Its mineralogical …
Protothema
PentapostagmaScientists said the composition of the Teghaza 001 meteorite provides information about the environment of the "red" planet early in its history, as it shows that there was liquid water on its surface.
It is much more than a simple stone. It comes from Mars and has traveled both in space and in time. It came to Earth after being torn from the surface of the red planet by the impact of another body, but its true value is in what it retains: a story that goes back to the first chapters of that neighboring world, when its crust was just beginning to form. Baptized as Teghaza 001 (Teg 001) , this meteorite formed about 4.1 billion years ago, at th…
NASA-funded Study Details One of Oldest Mars Meteorites Ever Found
When a rose-colored meteorite was found in the Sahara Desert in 2022, no one knew how old it was or where it came from. Not until NASA-funded scientists age-dated its minerals did they realize the nearly 2-pound (800-gram) rock was a piece of Mars that formed more than 4.1 billion years ago, making it one […]
Channel News Asia
Martian meteorite found in the Sahara is 4.1 billion years old
WASHINGTON, Oct 29 : A meteorite found in 2022 in the Sahara in Mali formed in the Martian crust at least 4.1 billion years ago, according to scientists, making the reddish igneous rock perhaps the oldest of the 435 meteorites from Mars known on Earth.The researchers said the composition of the meteorite, cal
Teghaza 001 meteorite found in Sahara proves there was water on the surface of Mars 4 billion years ago
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