Discovery of new meteorite reveals past of Mars

Space.com and BBC news reported that a meteorite which was found in a desert in Morocco is a new Martian type and is expected to reveal some of the past history of Mars.

The meteorite, which weighs 320g and is dark in color, was named Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 by scientists at the New Mexico University.

The texture and chemistry are totally different from all previous objects found in the Earth.

The researchers' analysis, reported online this week by Science magazine, shows the meteorite to be just over two billion years old.

About 110 Martian meteorites have been collected worldwide. Before it dropped down to Earth, it is believed to have traveled through the Red Planet and then spent millions of years in space.

Some 110 Martian meteorites are classified as SNC meteorites, having been found in locations like India, Egypt and France.

Researchers also found much more water in the new meteorite than expected; about 6,000 parts per million. That is about 10 times more water than other SNC 110 rocks.

It shows the environment where the rock formed and indicates there was plenty of water at its origin.

They predict that the rock was formed earlier that the SNCs and believe that Mars was a lot warmer and a lot wetter although it is now colder and drier as a result of the changing weather.