Rare meteorite from Mars gives us a view into its ancient crust
Summary
Researchers identified Teghaza 001, a Martian meteorite found in Mali’s Sahara in 2022, as a rock that formed at least 4.1 billion years ago. Its mineral structure and dating results indicate that it cooled slowly inside Mars’s crust, making it a rare sample of the planet’s ancient crust.Key Facts
- Teghaza 001 is the third known genuinely ancient Martian meteorite, according to the article.
- The meteorite was found in the Sahara Desert in Mali in 2022.
- Eight stones weighing just under 800 grams in total were acquired by a private collector, who sent a sample to the University of New Mexico for classification.
- Researchers found that the rock consists mostly of feldspar, with darker pyroxene crystals.
- The rock’s relatively large crystals suggest it cooled slowly.
- The research team estimated that Teghaza 001 cooled at roughly 0.01 degrees Celsius per year and solidified from magma within Mars’s crust.
- Zircon grains dated the rock to about 4.11 billion years, and phosphate minerals and rubidium-strontium dating produced similar ages.
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