Click to enlarge
A meteorite that landed in the Sahara Desert has scientists buzzing because it's no ordinary space rock. It came from Mars, is two billion years old, and, best of all, is full of water.
Scientists believe it's a piece of Mars that traveled through space for who knows how many millions of years and then survived the journey through Earth's hot atmosphere and landed in the Sahara, one of the driest regions on Earth.
Scientists analyzing the rock found that it was made up of about 6,000 parts per million of water. That may not seem like a lot, but it's about 10 times more than any other known meteorite from Mars.
The rock also shows signs of water damage, indicating that water was abundant where it was located and existed on our neighboring planet, even though most of it is now dry.
The meteorite, named NWA 7034, is nicknamed Black Beauty and is similar to volcanic rocks analyzed by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars.
The high water content and changes in its surface indicate that the rock came from the surface of Mars and not from deeper layers.
Its age is also important, since it places the duration of the transition period from a warm and wet Mars to the cold and dry one we know today.
Most Martian meteorites that have been found are only 1.3 billion years old, with the oldest being 4.5 billion years old.
The analysis reveals that the rock is the result of a volcanic eruption that occurred about 2.1 billion years ago. Flowing water helped cool it, giving it a unique appearance. The findings of the analysis were published in the journal Science Express.
