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While rovers and orbiting spacecraft scour Mars searching for clues to its past, researchers have uncovered another piece of the red planet in the most inhospitable place on Earth -- Antarctica.
The new specimen was found by a field party from the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) on Dec. 15, 2003, on an ice field in the Miller Range of the Transantarctic Mountains, roughly 750 kilometers from the South Pole. This 715.2-gram black rock, officially designated MIL 03346, was one of 1,358 meteorites collected by ANSMET during the 2003-2004 austral summer.
Discovery of this meteorite occurred during the second full field season of a cooperative effort funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance recovery of rare meteorite types in Antarctica in the hopes of finding new Martian samples.
Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History involved in classification of Antarctic finds said the mineralogy, texture and the oxidized nature of the rock are unmistakably Martian. The new specimen is the seventh recognized member of a group of Martian meteorites called the nakhlites, named after the first known specimen that fell in Nakhla, Egypt, in 1911.
Like the other Martian meteorites, MIL 03346 is a piece of the red planet that can be studied in detail in the laboratory, providing a critical "reality check" for use in interpreting the wealth of images and data being returned by the spacecraft currently exploring Mars. Following the existing protocols of the U.S. Antarctic meteorite program, scientists from around the world will be invited to request samples of the new specimen for their own detailed research.
Nakhlites are significant among the known Martian meteorites for several reasons. Thought to have originated within thick lava flows that crystallized on Mars approximately 1.3 billion years ago, and sent to Earth by a meteorite impact about 11 million years ago, the nakhlites are among the older known Martian meteorites. As a result they bear witness to significant segments of the volcanic and environmental history of Mars.
The U.S. Antarctic Meteorite program is a cooperative effort jointly supported by NSF, NASA and the Smithsonian Institution. Antarctic field work is supported by grants from NASA and NSF to Case Western Reserve University; initial examination and curation of recovered Antarctic meteorites is supported by NASA at the Astromaterials Curation facilities at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas; and initial characterization and long term curation of Antarctic meteorite samples is supported by NASA and the Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Details concerning initial characterization of the specimen and sample availability are available through a special edition of the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, to be immediately released on the Web (http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/amn/amn.htm) and mailed to researchers worldwide.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex, with 18 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park. For more information about the Smithsonian Institution visit http://www.si.edu.
Case Western Reserve University is among the nation's leading research institutions. Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning. The Commission on Presidential Debates selected Case to host the U.S. vice presidential debate on October 5, 2004. http://www.case.edu.
NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. For more information about NSF visit http://www.nsf.gov.
NASA's mission is to understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; and to inspire the next generation of explorers. For more information about NASA visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/ .
FURTHER INFORMATION:
More information about nakhlites and other Martian meteorites can be found at NASA Johnson Space Center's Astromaterials Curation website; the "Meteorites from Mars" link provides information at the layperson level (http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/marsmets/contents.htm ) while the "Mars Meteorite Compendium" (http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/mmc/mmc.htm) provides detailed technical and scientific information.
Questions regarding the recovery of meteorites in Antarctica should be directed to the ANSMET website at http://geology.cwru.edu/~ansmet/ , or to Ralph Harvey, professor of geology at Case Western Reserve University (216-368-0198; ralph.harvey@case.edu ). Questions regarding the initial processing of Antarctic meteorite samples and their availability for study should be directed to the Astromaterials Curation website at http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/antmet.htm or to Dr. Kevin Righter (281-483-5125; kevin.righter-1@nasa.gov ). Questions regarding the initial characterization of the MIL 03346 sample should be directed to Dr. Timothy McCoy at the Smithsonian Institution (202-633-2206; mccoy.tim@nmnh.si.edu ). Meteorite video courtesy of Trent Schindler/NSF.
Media Contacts:
NASA: Donald Savage, 202-358-1727, Donald.L.Savage@nasa.gov
NSF: Leslie Fink, 703-292-5395, lfink@nsf.gov
Smithsonian: Paul Taylor, 202-357-2627, taylorp@publicaffairs.si.edu
Case: Jeffrey Bendix 216-368-6070, Jeffrey.Bendix@case.edu
(NOTE: Still photos associated with this release are attached, and an animation depicting the voyage of this meteorite from Mars to Earth is available at: rtsp://nsfvideo.nomex.net/press_releases/mars_metorite/mars_metorite.smi