#chassignites

4.4 Billion Year Old Meteorite Represents the Bulk of Mars’ Crust

A few years ago, in a desert in Morocco, a very special meteorite was found.  A rock unlike anything ever found on Earth, called NWA 7034, or colloquially ‘black beauty.’  Chemical analysis in 2011 found that it originated on Mars, but it was even unlike any other Martian meteorite discovered.  The scientific community was extremely excited to determine its properties through a spectroscopic…