Martian meteorite
A rock that was blasted off Mars by an impact and later landed on Earth.
A Martian meteorite is a real piece of Mars that you can hold. Millions of years ago, big space rocks crashed into Mars so hard that chunks of the planet were thrown into space. Some of those chunks drifted around the Sun and, after a very long journey, fell to Earth.
How do scientists know they came from Mars? Some contain tiny bubbles of gas trapped inside dark glass. When this gas was measured, it matched the air of Mars that NASA's Viking landers tested in 1976. Martian meteorites are also much younger than most other meteorites and have their own special mix of oxygen atoms. Only a few hundred are known, so they are very precious. One famous example is Tissint, which fell in the Moroccan desert in 2011 and was seen as a fireball.
Most Martian meteorites look like dark volcanic rock, called basalt, sometimes with shiny black crust and greenish crystals. You cannot tell one by eye alone; experts must test it in a laboratory. If you think you have found any meteorite, ask an adult, never taste, cut or heat it, and always get permission before collecting on someone's land.
Related terms
Level: Beginner Ages 7 and up