Ancient Martian Meteorite Teghaza 001 Dates to Over 4 Billion Years Ago
Scientists say the Sahara-found meteorite Teghaza 001 formed in Mars' crust at least 4.1 billion years ago, offering new clues about early Martian water and habitability.
A meteorite recovered in 2022 from the Sahara desert in Mali has been dated to at least 4.1 billion years old, making it one of the oldest known rocks from Mars. The reddish igneous fragment, named Teghaza 001, is a coarse-grained gabbro that formed in the Martian crust after magma rose from the planet’s mantle.
Researchers determined its age using uranium-lead dating of zircon crystals within the rock. The mineral composition, dominated by feldspar and pyroxene, shows evidence of interaction with liquid water while the rock cooled underground, suggesting that early Mars was warmer and wetter than it is today.
"A witness to a time when Mars was likely warmer and wetter than it has been for most of its history," said planetary scientist Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who led the study published in Science.
"Martian meteorites are our only samples from Mars, forming our basis for understanding the formation and differentiation of early Mars and allowing us to evaluate in laboratories whether ancient Mars could have supported habitable conditions," Liu added.
The find adds to the small group of Martian meteorites that date to the planet’s early history; only three, including Teghaza 001, are known to be that old. The meteorite was recovered in eight pieces, the largest roughly the size of a fist, about 34 km from the Malian village of Bir Chali.
Scientists say the data complement remote-sensing observations from satellites, landers and rovers, helping to clarify how Mars and Earth diverged after their formation around 4.5 billion years ago.