[Rockhounds] Lost Piece of Mars Found on Earth Reveals an Ancient Volcanic Secret

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

An unexpected tool is giving us new insight into the fine structure of the
outer layers of Mars <https://www.sciencealert.com/mars>.

Using meteorites that were long ago chipped off the red planet around 11
million years ago and flung into space to eventually land on Earth,
scientists have been able to study the way volcanism shaped the crust and
mantle of Mars to infer the presence of silicate reservoirs
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X18302437> that
fed their formation.

It's quite a crafty bit of research, really – we have new information about
the structure and evolution of Mars, without having to go all the way there
to get it. Martian meteorites are turning out to be quite an asset for
understanding
the planet's history
<https://www.sciencealert.com/a-meteorite-from-mars-suggests-the-planet-s-formation-was-different-from-what-we-thought>,
and they're delivered right here to our own doorstep
<https://www.sciencealert.com/almost-200-fragments-of-mars-made-it-all-the-way-to-earth-but-how>
.

"Martian meteorites are the only physical materials we have available from
Mars," says geologist James Day
<https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/martian-meteorites-deliver-trove-information-red-planets-structure>
of
the Scripps Oceanography Institute.

"They enable us to make precise and accurate measurements and then quantify
processes that occurred within Mars and close to the martian surface. They
provide direct information on Mars' composition that can ground truth
mission science, like the ongoing Perseverance rover operations taking
place there."

https://www.sciencealert.com/lost-piece-of-mars-found-on-earth-reveals-an-ancient-volcanic-secret