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Rare meteorite from Mars gives us a view into its ancient crust

SpaceOctober 31, 20261 min read

Scientists say a rare meteorite that fell from Mars, called Teghaza 001, is at least 4.1 billion years old. That makes it a third very ancient piece of Mars found on Earth.

A very old rock from Mars

A team led by Yang Liu, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studied a meteorite called Teghaza 001. It was found in the Sahara Desert in Mali in 2022. The team showed that the rock formed at least 4.1 billion years ago. Until now, only two very old Martian meteorites were known.

Key facts

Most of Mars's surface is more than 3 billion years old, based on crater counts.
The three main groups of Martian meteorites are all 2.4 billion years old or younger.
Teghaza 001 formed at least 4.1 billion years ago.
Teghaza 001 was found in Mali in 2022.

Why old Mars rocks are rare on Earth

Rocks from Mars reach Earth only after a large impact knocks them off the planet. Not every rock can survive this. If the impact hits loose powder, the rock may not form a solid piece. Weak rocks do not escape Mars's gravity. So the impact acts like a filter, and the rocks we have are a biased sample of Mars.

Why it matters

Most Martian meteorites we have are much younger than the planet's surface. Teghaza 001 is a single, solid igneous rock, which is a rock that formed from cooled molten material. It gives scientists a clearer view of Mars's ancient crust. Liu says it is also similar to some of the oldest rocks on Earth.

What to watch

More studies of Teghaza 001 to learn more about Mars's early crust.
Whether other ancient Martian rocks are found on Earth.
How well future samples match what scientists see from orbit.

Glossary

Teghaza 001: A meteorite that fell from Mars and was found in the Sahara Desert in Mali in 2022.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: A NASA center that works on robotic space missions and planetary science.
meteorite: A rock from space that lands on the surface of a planet or moon.
igneous rock: A rock that forms when hot melted material cools and becomes solid.
crater counts: A method that counts craters on a surface to estimate how old it is.

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