Mars Meteorite Reveals Secrets Of Red Planet

ZeRoY

Mars Meteorite Reveals Secrets Of Red Planet

A meteorite from Mars found by Bedouin tribesmen in the Sahara last year has been used to determine the Red Planet's crust was formed 4.4 billion years ago, scientists have said.

American and French geologists found tough crystals within the meteorite called zircons, which held traces of uranium, whose rate of decay can be used as a calculator of age.

"This date is about 100 million years after the first dust condensed in the solar system," said Munir Humayun, a professor of Earth, ocean and atmospheric science at Florida State University.

"We now know that Mars had a crust within the first 100 million years of the start of planet-building, and that Mars' crust formed concurrently with the oldest crusts on Earth and the Moon."

The rock, measuring 1.5 inches across and weighing 2.9 ounces, carries the official designation of NWA 7533, with the letters NWA meaning North West Africa, where it was found.

It was discovered near Bir Anzarane in southern Morocco, and has a sister, an even more famous rock named NWA 7034, that has also been called Black Beauty.

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