Martian Meteorites Reveal Hidden Structure and History of Mars [Study]

(Photo : Getty Images/ Robyn Beck)

Meteorites from Mars help scientists learn more about the planet's past and complex structure.

These meteorites were thrown off Mars 11 million years ago and fell on Earth. They have given geologists important information about how Earth's rocks have changed over time and how volcanoes form.

Looking Into Mars's Geology

Meteorites from Mars, especially chassignites and nakhlites, help us learn about the planet's environment. The rock-type chassignites were named after a rock found in Chassigny, France, in 1815. The rock-type nakhlites were named after a rock found in Nakhla, Egypt, in 1905.

Chassignites are mostly the mineral olivine, while nakhlites are basaltic with augite and olivine. This change in composition has helped scientists learn more about Mars's crust and mantle.

Geologist James Day of Scripps Oceanography Institute pointed out that the only tangible items from Mars that we have are meteorites. He clarified that these meteorites enable scientists to measure and quantify processes on Mars and close to its surface.

He also supports mission science by giving precise details regarding Mars' composition, such as the Perseverance rover's activities. According to the chemistry of the rocks, both originated from the same volcano on Mars 1.3 billion years ago.

Different types of nakhlites and chassignites were made from partially hardened liquid magma. Like volcanic action on Earth, this made rocks with a lot of basalt in the crust and olivine in the mantle.

Knowing What Mars Represents

The Science Advances study sheds light on Mars' interior structure and the location of old geological stores. On Earth, plate tectonics mix up geological reserves, but on Mars, they have mostly stayed separate since the planet formed. This difference gives us a unique look at how Earth formed.

Day added that determining that nakhlites and chassignites originate from the same volcanic system and interact with the Martian crust altered by atmospheric interactions can identify a new rock type on Mars. He stressed that scientists can learn more about Mars' internal structure by studying the rocks that have already been found, all of which came from volcanoes.

The data also show how volcanism on Earth and Mars is similar and different. The Earth's core and rock move around and mix with each other, which affects the volcanoes.

Mars doesn't have plate tectonics, so its rock formations have been different for billions of years. Day says the formation of nakhlites and chassignites is similar to that of newly formed volcanoes in Hawaii's Oahu range.

New volcanoes push the core forward, which makes geological forces that cause volcanoes to erupt. But Mars' reserves are ancient; they split up soon after the red planet was formed.

The Solar System Workings and Emerging Worlds study, which NASA paid for, shows how important rocks from Mars are to the study of planets. Scientists could examine these rocks to learn more about Mars's history and how its rocks formed without sending a mission there.

These rocks will help future missions to Mars and help us learn more about our neighboring planet.