Mars Meteorite NWA 13441 Fills 1.8 Billion-Year Rock Gap With 1.27-Billion-Year Sample
Updated
Updated · IFLScience · Aug 12
Mars Meteorite NWA 13441 Fills 1.8 Billion-Year Rock Gap With 1.27-Billion-Year Sample
3 articles · Updated · IFLScience · Aug 12
Summary
A 0.9-gram sample of Martian meteorite NWA 13441 was dated to 1.273 billion years old, giving scientists the first shergottite from a long-missing span in Mars's geologic record.
That gap ran between the mostly sub-600-million-year shergottites and two much older 2.4-billion-year samples, leaving researchers unsure whether Martian igneous activity had paused or the evidence was simply missing.
Neodymium isotopes in NWA 13441 differ from other shergottites but resemble primitive chondrites, pointing to material from deep Mars that may have remained largely unmixed since the Solar System formed.
The team thinks the rock crystallized near the Martian crust-mantle boundary before volcanic eruption accelerated cooling, though mixing between two magma reservoirs remains an alternative explanation.
The find matters because Mars sample-return plans have stalled on cost, making rare meteorites like NWA 13441 a crucial window into the planet's volcanic and mantle history.