NASA Team Analyzes Water-Rich Meteorite Linked to Mars Crust

NASA researchers analyzing a small meteorite that may be the first discovered from the Martian surface or crust find it contains 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites from unknown origins.

NASA researchers analyzing a small meteorite that may be the first discovered from the Martian surface or crust have found it contains 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites from unknown origins.

This new class of meteorite was found in 2011 in the Sahara Desert. Designated Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 (shown above), and nicknamed “Black Beauty,” it weighs approximately 320 grams. After more than a year of study, a team of U.S. scientists determined the meteorite formed 2.1 billion years ago.

NASA officials said the age of NWA 7034 is important because it is significantly older than most other Martian meteorites.

The meteorite is an excellent match for surface rocks and outcrops NASA has studied remotely via Mars rovers and Mars-orbiting satellites, NASA said, adding that NWA 7034's composition is different from any previously studied Martian meteorite.

NWA 7034 is made of cemented fragments of basalt, rock that forms from rapidly cooled lava, NASA said. This unusual meteorite's chemistry matches that of the Martian crust as measured by NASA's Mars exploration rovers and the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, NASA said.

The research team included groups at the University of California at San Diego and the Carnegie Institution in Washington. Experiments were conducted to analyze mineral and chemical composition, age, and water content.

Researchers theorize the large amount of water contained in NWA 7034 may have originated from interaction of the rocks with water present in Mars' crust. The meteorite also has a different mixture of oxygen isotopes than has been found in other Martian meteorites, which could have resulted from interaction with the Martian atmosphere, NASA said.