The scientists have discovered a bulk of rocks on the Martian surface that looks very similar to the famous ‘Black Beauty’ meteorite that was found in the Moroccan desert a few years ago.
The meteorite, named NWA 7034, is a 4.4 billion-year-old chunk of the crust from Mars.
The meteorite’s spectroscopic measurements are a spot-on match with the orbital measurements of the dark plains of the Red Planet, the regions where the red dust coating on the planet is thin and the underlying rocks are exposed, according to the researchers.
Lead study author Kevin Cannon, of Brown University, said that the study’s findings suggest that the ‘Black Beauty’ meteorite is representative of the Martian rocks’ “bulk background”.
When the scientists began the analysis of Black Beauty in 2011, they confirmed that its chemical makeup was a castaway from the Red Planet. However, it was different from any Martian meteorite ever found.
But before Black Beauty, all the rocks belonging to Martian surface and were found on Earth were known as SNC meteorites (chassignites, shergottites or nakhlites).
Black Beauty is mainly igneous rocks that are made up of cooled volcanic material.
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