Mars meteorite
Encyclopedia
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
is a rock that formed on the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, was ejected from Mars by the impact of an asteroid or comet, and landed on the Earth. Of over 53000 meteorites that have been found on Earth, 99 are martian (as of 2011-07-30). These meteorites are thought to be from Mars because they have elemental and isotopic compositions that are similar to rocks and atmosphere gases analyzed by spacecraft on Mars.
Note that this does not refer to meteorites found on Mars, such as Heat Shield Rock
Heat Shield Rock
Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on Mars by the Mars rover Opportunity in January 2005. The meteorite was formally named Meridiani Planum meteorite by the Meteoritical Society in October, 2005 .-Discovery:Opportunity encountered the meteorite entirely by chance,...
.
History
By the early 1980s, it was obvious that the SNC group of meteorites (Shergottites, Nakhlites, Chassignites) were significantly different from most other meteorite types. Among these differences were younger formation ages, a different oxygen isotopic composition, the presence of aqueous weathering products, and some similarity in chemical composition to analyses of the martian surface rocks in 1976 by the Viking landers. Several workers suggested these characteristics implied the origin of SNC meteorites from a relatively large parent body, possibly Mars (e.g., Smith et al. and Treiman et al.). Then in 1983, various trapped gases were reported in impact-formed glass of the EET79001 shergottite, gases which closely resembled those in the martian atmosphere as analyzed by Viking. These trapped gases provided direct evidence for a martian origin. In 2000, an article by Treiman, Gleason and Bogard gave a survey of all the arguments used to conclude the SNC meteorites (of which 14 had been found at the time) were from Mars. They wrote, "There seems little likelihood that the SNCs are not from Mars. If they were from another planetary body, it would have to be substantially identical to Mars as it now is understood."Composition
As of 2011-07-30, 98 of the 99 Martian meteorites are divided into three rare groups of achondriticAchondrite
An achondrite is a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules. It consists of material similar to terrestrial basalts or plutonic rocks and has been differentiated and reprocessed to a lesser or greater degree due to melting and recrystallization on or within meteorite parent bodies...
(stony) meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s: shergottites (83), nakhlites (13), and chassignites (2), with the oddball meteorite ALH 84001 usually placed within a specific "OPX group". Consequently, Martian meteorites as a whole are sometimes referred to as the SNC group. They have isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
ratios that are said to be consistent with each other and inconsistent with the Earth. The names derive from the location of where the first meteorite of their type was discovered.
Shergottites
Roughly three-quarters of all Martian meteorites can be classified as Shergottites. They are named after the Shergotty meteoriteShergotty meteorite
The Shergotty meteorite is the first example of the shergottite Mars meteorite family. It was a Martian meteorite which fell to Earth at Shergotty , in the Gaya district, Bihar, India on 25 August 1865, and was retrieved by witnesses almost immediately...
, which fell at Sherghati
Sherghati
Sherghati is a subdivision-level town of the Gaya district in Bihar, India. The Morhar River surrounds it; that is why the length of the city is much more than the width....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1865.
Shergottites are igneous rock
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
s of mafic
Mafic
Mafic is an adjective describing a silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron; the term is a portmanteau of the words "magnesium" and "ferric". Most mafic minerals are dark in color and the relative density is greater than 3. Common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine,...
to ultramafic lithology
Lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples or with low magnification microscopy, such as colour, texture, grain size, or composition. It may be either a detailed description of these characteristics or be a summary of...
. They fall into three main groups, the Basaltic, Olivine
Olivine
The mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
-Phyric and Lherzolitic
Lherzolite
Lherzolite is a type of ultramafic igneous rock. It is a coarse grained rock consisting of 40 to 90% olivine along with significant orthopyroxene and lesser calcic chromium rich clinopyroxene. Minor minerals include chromium and aluminium spinels and garnets. Plagioclase can occur in lherzolites...
Shergottites, based on their crystal size and mineral content. They can be categorised alternatively into three or four groups based on their Rare-Earth Element content. These two classification systems do not line up with each other, hinting at complex relationships between the various source rocks and magmas that the Shergottites formed from.
The shergottites appear to have crystallised as recently as 180 million years ago, which is a surprisingly young age considering how ancient the majority of the surface of Mars appears to be, and the small size of Mars itself. Because of this, some have advocated the idea that the Shergottites are much older than this. This "Shergottite Age Paradox" remains unsolved and is still an area of active research and debate.
Nakhlites
Nakhla meteorite
Nakhla is a famous martian meteorite fallen in Egypt in 1911.-History:It fell to Earth on June 28, 1911, at approximately 09:00, in the Nakhla region of Abu Hommos, Alexandria, Egypt...
, fell in El-Nakhla, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1911 and had an estimated weight of 10 kg
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
.
Nakhlites are igneous rock
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
s that are rich in augite
Augite
Augite is a single chain inosilicate mineral, 2O6. The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees.-Characteristics:Augite is a solid solution in the pyroxene group...
and were formed from basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
about 1.3 billion years ago. They contain augite
Augite
Augite is a single chain inosilicate mineral, 2O6. The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees.-Characteristics:Augite is a solid solution in the pyroxene group...
and olivine
Olivine
The mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s. Their crystallization ages, compared to a crater count chronology of different regions on Mars, suggest the nakhlites formed on the large volcanic construct of either Tharsis
Tharsis
The Tharsis region on Mars is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in Mars’ western hemisphere. The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons, which are collectively known as...
, Elysium
Elysium Planitia
Elysium Planitia is the second largest volcanic region on Mars, after Tharsis Montes. It is centered at . It includes volcanoes, from north to south, Hecates Tholus, Elysium Mons and Albor Tholus. Another large volcano, Apollinaris Mons, lies south of the others. Besides having large volcanoes,...
, or Syrtis Major Planum.
It has been shown that the nakhlites were suffused with liquid water around 620 million years ago and that they were ejected from Mars around 10.75 million years ago by an asteroid impact. They fell to Earth within the last 10,000 years.
Chassignites
The first chassignite, the Chassigny meteorite, fell at Chassigny, Haute-MarneChassigny, Haute-Marne
Chassigny is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It is known for the Chassigny meteorite....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1815. There has been only one other chassignite recovered, named Northwest Africa (NWA) 2737. NWA 2737 was found in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
or Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
in August 2000 by meteorite hunters Bruno Fectay and Carine Bidaut, who gave it the temporary name "Diderot." It was shown by Beck et al. that its "mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
, major and trace element chemistry as well as oxygen isotope
Isotopes of oxygen
There are three stable isotopes of oxygen that lead to oxygen having a standard atomic mass of 15.9994 u. 17 radioactive isotopes have also been characterized, with mass numbers from 12O to 28O, all short-lived, with the longest-lived being 15O with a half-life of 122.24 seconds...
s revealed an unambiguous Martian origin and strong affinities with Chassigny."
Other types
Pyroxenite
Pyroxenite is an ultramafic igneous rock consisting essentially of minerals of the pyroxene group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite. They are classified into clinopyroxenites, orthopyroxenites, and the websterites which contain both pyroxenes...
(an igneous rock dominantly composed of orthopyroxene). For this reason it is classified within its own group, the "OPX martian meteorites". This meteorite received a lot of attention after an electron microscope revealed structures that were considered to be the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized remains of bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
-like life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
forms. , scientific consensus was that the microfossils
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
were not indicative of Martian life, but of contamination by earthly biofilm
Biofilm
A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance...
s. However, in 2009, new analyses ruled out earthly and non-biological origins, presenting strong evidence of life on Mars. ALH 84001 is as old as the basaltic and intermediate shergottite groups — i.e., 4.1 billion years old.
In March 2004 it was suggested that the unique Kaidun meteorite
Kaidun meteorite
Kaidun is a meteorite that fell on 3 December 1980 on a Soviet military base near what is now Al-Khuraybah in Yemen. A fireball was observed travelling from the northwest to the southeast, and a single stone weighing about 2 kilograms was recovered from a small impact pit...
, which landed in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
on March 12, 1980, may have originated on the Martian moon of Phobos
Phobos (moon)
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
. Because Phobos has similarities to C-type asteroid
C-type asteroid
C-type asteroids are carbonaceous asteroids. They are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids, and an even higher percentage in the outer part of the asteroid belt beyond 2.7 AU, which is dominated by this asteroid type...
s and because the Kaidun meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite
Carbonaceous chondrite
Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 7 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites...
, Kaidun is not a Martian meteorite in the strict sense. However, it may contain small fragments of material from the Martian surface.
Origin
The majority of SNC meteorites are quite young compared to most other meteorites and seem to imply that volcanicVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
activity was present on Mars only a few hundred million years ago. The young formation ages of martian meteorites was one of the early recognized characteristics that suggested their origin from a planetary body such as Mars. Among martian meteorites, only ALH 84001 has a radiometric age older than about 1400 Ma (Ma = million years). All nakhlites, as well as Chassigny and NWA 2737, give similar if not identical formation ages around 1300 Ma, as determined by various radiometric dating techniques. Formation ages determined for many shergottites are variable and much younger, mostly ~150-575 Ma. The chronological history of shergottties is not totally understood, and a few workers have suggested that some may actually have formed prior to the times given by their radiometric ages, a suggestion not accepted by most workers. Formation ages of SNC meteorites are often linked to their cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) ages, as measured from the nuclear products of interactions of the meteorite in space with energetic cosmic ray particles. Thus, all measured nakhlites give essentially identical CRE ages of approximately 11 Ma, which when combined with their possible identical formation ages indicates ejection of nakhlites into space from a single location on Mars by a single impact event. Some of the shergottites also seem to form distinct groups according to their CRE ages and formation ages, again indicating ejection of several different shergottties from Mars by a single impact. However, CRE ages of shergottites vary considerably (~0.5-19 Ma), and several impact events are required to eject all the known shergottites. It has been asserted that there are no large young craters on Mars that are candidates as sources for the martian meteorites, but recent research claims to have a likely source for ALH 84001 and a possible source for other shergottites.
Possible evidence of life
Several Martian meteorites have been found to contain what some think is evidence for fossilized Martian life forms. The most significant of these is a meteorite found in the Allan HillsAllan Hills
The Allan Hills are group of hills, mainly ice free and about long, lying just north-west of Coombs Hills near the heads of Mawson Glacier and Mackay Glacier in Oates Land and Victoria Land, Antarctica. They were mapped by the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and...
of Antarctica (ALH 84001). Ejection from Mars seems to have taken place about 16 million years ago. Arrival on Earth was about 13 000 years ago. Cracks in the rock appear to have filled with carbonate materials (implying groundwater was present) between 4 and 3.6 billion-years-ago. Evidence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been identified with the levels increasing away from the surface. Other Antarctic meteorites do not contain PAHs. Earthly contamination should presumably be highest at the surface. Several minerals in the crack fill are deposited in phases, specifically, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
deposited as magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
, that are claimed to be typical of biodepositation on Earth. There are also small ovoid and tubular structures that might be nanobacteria fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s in carbonate material in crack fills (investigators McKay, Gibson, Thomas-Keprta, Zare). Micropaleontologist
Micropaleontology
Micropaleontology is the branch of paleontology that studies microfossils.-Microfossils:...
Schopf, who described several important terrestrial bacterial assemblages, examined ALH 84001 and opined that the structures are too small to be Earthly bacteria and don't look especially like lifeforms to him. The size of the objects is consistent with Earthly "nanobacteria", but the existence of nanobacteria itself is controversial.
Many studies disputed the validity of the fossils. For example, it was found that most of the organic matter in the meteorite was of terrestrial origin. But, a recent study suggests that magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
in the meteorite could have been produced by Martian microbes. The study, published in the journal of the Geochemical and Meteoritic Society, used more advanced high resolution electron microscopy than was possible in 1996.