Liquid slot water once shaped the rock inside a meteorite from Mars, but likely did not support any microbial life, a new study finds.
The rock is part of a class of meteorites known as nakhlites, which by birth are volcanic rocks that an asteroid impact blasted off Mars about 11 million years ago. Previous research has suggested that nakhlites might shed light on the Red Planet's ancient hydrothermal systems, and particularly its hot
springs. Hot springs are an intriguing target because scientists think these environments may have been cradles for early life on Earth, so wonder whether the same holds true on Mars and beyond.In the new study, researchers examined the Miller Range 03346 nakhlite, a 1.58-pound (715 grams) rock that scientists discovered in the Miller Range of mountains in Antarctica in 2003.
"From previous research, we know that minerals in this specific meteorite reacted with water about 630 million years ago," study lead author Josefin Martell, a planetary scientist at Lund University in Sweden,