News Planetary Science

Ancient Martian meteorite preserves chunks of planet’s early crust

Rock could reveal what Mars was like 4.4 billion years ago

 

ANCIENT CRUST  The meteorite NWA 7533 is embedded with crystals that date back to 4.4 billion years ago, when the Martian crust first solidified.

Luc Labenne

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

Pieces of Mars’ original 4.4-billion-year-old crust have shown up in fragments of a smooth black rock recovered in the Sahara Desert, researchers report November 20 in Nature.