A Complete Slice of an Exotic Martian Meteorite — NWA 13276

A Complete Slice of an Exotic Martian Meteorite, NWA 13276

Mars Rock – SNC Shergottite, Sahara Desert, Mali, North West Africa

3.75 x 3.5 x 0.1 in. (97 x 87 x 2.5 mm). Weight: 1.4 oz. (40.94 grams)

This is a complete slice of rock which originated from the planet Mars. Martian meteorites are among the rarest substances on Earth, with less than 400 lbs. known to exist. These specimens arrived on Earth as a result of a massive asteroid impact on the Martian surface which ejected chunks of material into interplanetary space, some of which would eventually cross into Earth's gravitational pull. There are numerous chemical and isotopic markers which suggest these stones originated on Mars, with research conducted on two suspected Martian meteorites showing that the meteorite's tiny bubble voids house tiny volumes of gas which perfectly match the signature of the samples found in the Martian atmosphere by NASA’s Viking Missions.

This polished slice is derived from a stone found in the Sahara Desert, shows very little signs of weathering, and is circumscribed by a rim of the meteorite’s fusion crust. Mineralogically, olivine, pyroxene and maskelynite—the glass which contains the bubbles of Martian atmosphere—are most plentiful. Other minerals include chromite, ilmenite, merrillite, pyrrhotite, and pentlandite. 

The laboratory research of this stone was conducted by a team led by the world’s foremost classifier of lunar and Martian meteorites, Dr. Anthony Irving. On May 2nd, 2020, the team’s abstract was approved for publication in the journal of record, the Meteoritical Bulletin.

LITERATURE

The official classification of this Martian meteorite appears in the 109th edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin. A copy of the abstract accompanies this offering.