Plateau du Tademait 008

A COMPLETE SLICE OF A MARTIAN METEORITE

This complete slice of a Martian meteorite had been part of a rock on Mars that was launched off the Martian surface by a massive asteroid impact and then passed into an Earth-crossing orbit. Martian meteorites are among the rarest substances on Earth, with only approximately 374 kg (825 pounds) of Martian meteorites known to exist. In addition to their highly specific chemical markers, most Martian meteorites — including this example — exhibit an unusually young crystalline age, indicating that they do not originate from asteroids. Scientists long speculated that Mars was the most likely candidate for the origin of an unusual group of meteorites that shared similar characteristics, a belief that was vindicated in 1995. The smoking gun turned out to be minute amounts of gas found in tiny bubbles of impact melt in two suspected Martian meteorites, specimens quite similar to the one currently offered. When the gas was analyzed, it matched the signature of the Martian atmosphere as reported by NASA's Viking space probes.

Both sides of this meteorite slice reveal pale green olivine phenocrysts encompassing smaller pyroxene grains. In addition to pyroxene and olivine, scattered throughout are grains of maskelynite, the impact glass that engulfed tiny amounts of Martian atmosphere. As a complete slice of Plateau du Tademait 008, this specimen is circumscribed by a dark fusion crust along the entire rim, the last part of the meteoroid to melt and cool before thundering into the Sahara desert.

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Meteoritical Bulletin Entry for Plateau du Tademait 008