Meteorites From Mars Found on Earth Provide Unprecedented Insight into Red Planet

Chassigny meteorite in cross-polarized light –Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego

When a meteorite smashed into Mars eleven million years ago, pieces of the Red Planet hurtled into space—and some of them landed on Earth in the form of meteorites, depositing unparalleled evidence of the planet’s makeup.

Now, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have released a report after their detailed study of the Martian meteorites collected from locations across the world, including Africa and Antarctica.

Scripps geologist James Day and his colleagues analyzed the chemical compositions of the Mars debris, saying the results are important for understanding not only how Mars formed and evolved, but also for providing precise data that can inform current NASA missions like Insight and Perseverance and the Mars Sample Return.

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