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Mars Rock Found In Antarctica

Posted by timothy on from the it-was-lonely dept.

lousyd writes "Scientists with with ANSMET, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, have found a meteorite in the Antarctic that apparently has come from Mars. Weighing in at 715.2 grams, the find has been confirmed by the National Museum of Natural History. The rock is a member of the 'nakhlite' set, and has been named MIL 03346. By having the real thing before them, this offers Mars researchers a reality check on the data coming back from the various probes currently on Mars."

4 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. I'm curious... by GedConk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How can they be sure that it comes from Mars and not from an asteroid/comet/moon/whatever ?

    1. Re:I'm curious... by b-baggins · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Why should the Oxygen isotopes be different in different parts of the solar system? Didn't we supposedly all coalesce out of the same cloud of stuff?

      --
      You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
  2. Extraterrestrial Rocks by anim8 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The cool thing about Antarctica (no pun intended) is that if you see any rocks sitting on top of the ice they most likely came from outer space.

    I've heard that you are most likely to find them near the bases of mountain ranges where the swirling winds scours away the ice and snow better, revealing alien rocks and pebbles that have been covered for millenia.

    I'd guess there are tons of Martian rocks under the ice, perhaps some from Venus, lots of moon rocks ... and many more run-of-the-mill meteorites.

  3. Venus rocks not likely by missing000 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Remember folks, launching stuff into a much higher orbit requires lots of energy.

    The reason Mars rocks get here is because they are intercepted on their way to the sun.