Hi, list -- This article, and ones like it, have been going round for a couple months, and need a bit of clarification.
This meteorite, NWA1950, seems very similar to the Martian lherzolites, like ALHA77005, LEW88516, Y-793605, YA-1075 (and possibly GRV 9927). It is great to see, but (from what I know of it) is not all that different from other samples we now have. Nor are lherzolites all that rare among the Martian meteorites. Now if it were a true peridotite like Chassigny - that would be rare! I see nothing in the data on NWA1950 that 'hints at Mars water.' The article says there are fewer than 20 Martian meteorites -- by my last count, there are 30. The article says that "And apart from Nasa, no other scientific laboratory has had the opportunity to examine such a specimen ..." (like NWA1950). This is just plain wrong. The NASA specimen they talk about, ALHA77005, has been studied by laboratories all over the world, including in France. Ditto the other similar meteorites not mentioned by the article (LEW88516 and Y-793605). Part of ALHA77005 is even curated in Japan! NASA does not keep the US-collected Antarctic meteorites to itself. They are distributed widely, to every researcher who has a legitimate scientific study. An international advisory committee screens the requests, and recommends allocations of the US Antarctic meteorites. Allan Allan H. Treiman Senior Staff Scientist Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston, TX 77058-1113 281-486-2117 281-486-2162 (FAX) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Ron Baalke Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 11:12 AM To: Meteorite Mailing List Subject: [meteorite-list] New Mars Rock Hints At Past Water (NWA 1950) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3414143.stm New Mars rock hints at past water By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News January 21, 2004 A rock found in the Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco in 2001 has been confirmed as Martian in origin. The meteorite's chemical signature was checked out by researchers at the UK's Southampton Oceanography Centre. The team that found it was led by experienced meteorite hunters Carine Bidaut and Bruno Fectay, who have now found six rocks from Mars - a record. The meteorite would have been blasted off the Red Planet by an impact and may hold clues to Mars' watery past. Space oddity It was picked up by a local worker on an isolated plateau in the mountains at a location which is now being kept secret because of fears it may be spoilt by visitors. "For 30 years the locals have been searching the region for fossils so they know the area very well," Bruno Fectay told BBC News Online. "A few years ago we taught them to look for meteorites. "The rocks of the region are mostly light in colour whereas meteorites are dark, so they can be easily spotted." The meteorite - although in two fragments, they are classified as the same body - has been officially called the North-West Africa 1950, but has been nicknamed the Jules Verne, after the French author. It is described as a peridotite, an extremely rare type of Mars rock consisting of the minerals olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase glass. Planet passport Scientists say the fragments are magmatic rocks. Magmatism is the main process by which water moves from the core of planets to their surface. "It is a remarkable experience to hold it in your hand," Bruno Fectay said. "When you hold it you are in a Martian magmatic chamber, deep in a volcano under the surface of Mars. "We will never be able to go to such a place. This rock is our passport." Further analysis will help clarify the processes that produced magmas on Mars, and perhaps make it possible to estimate the quantity of fluids - and therefore water - released by volcanic activity on the planet in the past. Life on Mars Mars meteorites are extremely rare - fewer than 20 confirmed examples have been identified - and all are believed to come from the same body of rock that was blasted off the planet when it was hit by a large asteroid or comet. They have travelled through space and then fallen to Earth. Martian meteorites are distinguished by their relative youth, being at most 1.3 million years old, compared with 4.5 million years old for other meteorites. They also show evidence of rare gases found in the planet's atmosphere. In 1996 a team of scientists from the US space agency Nasa controversially claimed to have found evidence of past life in a meteorite from Mars. Although they have been exposed to the Earth's weather and contamination from its biosphere, Martian meteorites open a new way to study Mars because they are basaltic rocks formed in the presence of water and so illuminate the story of water on Mars. More to follow Only one other example of a so-called SNC meteorite equivalent to NWA 1950 has been found on Earth - a chunk of rock discovered in Antarctica in 1977. And apart from Nasa, no other scientific laboratory has had the opportunity to examine such a specimen. Bidaut and Fectay have a stock of over 1,000 meteorites waiting to be taken up by financial sponsors so they can be examined in European labs. "It takes us a while to get our finds analysed," said Bruno Fectay. "We may have more of the remarkable meteorites from Mars waiting to be examined." ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
