Martian Meteorite Found in Antarctica

While rovers and orbiting spacecraft scour Mars searching for clues to its past, researchers have uncovered another piece of the Red Planet in 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 icefield in the Miller Range of the Transantarctic Mountains, roughly 750 kilometers (466 miles) from the South Pole. This 715.2 gram (1.5 pound) black rock, officially designated MIL 03346, was one of 1358 meteorites collected by ANSMET during the 2003-2004 austral summer.

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 US Antarctic meteorite program, scientists from around the world will be invited to request samples of the new specimen for their own detailed research.

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.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Mars
• Antarctica
• Meteorites
• Martian
• science
• Transantarctic
• Mountains
• South
• Pole

[dischordia23]

@krirp No, the earth is tidally locked with the moon now. To see the other side we had to fly around to that side. We took and continue to take great photos and video (no hi-def) of the far side (both people and satellites.) Use 'Google Earth' and select 'Moon" as the planet. You can tour the far side for weeks. Have fun!

[krirp]

@dischordia23 So your saying if I went out in to the ocean I'd be able to see the other side?

[krirp]

@dischordia23 cool, it does help thanks.

[dischordia23]

@krirp "How dumb do you think I am? The moon doe's not rotate!" I'm not sure if your next statement meant you got this, so I'll restate. The moon has been rotating for several billion years now. There is no 'dark side', just a far-side relative to the earth. "The Moon's rotation and orbital periods are both just under four weeks, so no matter when the Moon is observed from the Earth the same hemisphere of the Moon is always seen"

[krirp]

@dischordia23 How'd they get "blasted off" like?

[krirp]

@dischordia23 ah, fair do's. ;)

[krirp]

@dischordia23 How dumb do you think I am? The moon doe's not rotate! All you have to do is look at it, we see the same face everywhere on earth man, how can you say such a thing. And yeah, I can see what your saying about the mass, I have heared it before. My point is that whenever someone like me comes along with "logic" they have to change their theories. It's all bullshit at the end of the day.

[dischordia23]

@krirp Actually we have rocks that have have been blasted off of Mars, the moon and many asteroids and landed on the earth (meteorites.) You can go see them in museums or even purchase some of them youself.

[dischordia23]

@krirp No, Viking tested the soil and air in the '70s

[dischordia23]

@krirp The moon does rotate. Mars also rotates, but gravity is a feature of mass--not spin.