Chunks of rock from Mars are hurtling toward Earth, and scientists can’t quite explain what they’re seeing.
Recovered samples of Martian rocks that drifted 381.42 million kilometers through space to our planet have puzzled experts, mainly because the rocks making their way to Earth are not nearly as old as expected.
The surface of Mars is thought to be much older than the 200 million year old rocks arriving on our planet, with estimates of the age of the planet ranging from 340 to 680 million years.
However, a total of seven samples of shergottite (a type of igneous rock found on Mars) were analyzed after falling to Earth, and testing suggests they are between 161 million and 540 million years old.
The research was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters and could change the scientific community’s understanding of the red planet.
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One theory proposed during the research is that asteroids impacting the Martian surface may have broken up the surface enough to loosen it and cause the younger rock beneath to be ejected into space.
The research was led by volcanologist Ben Cohen from the University of Glasgow. He said: “We know from certain chemical characteristics that these meteorites are definitely from Mars.
“They were blasted off the Red Planet by massive impact events, creating large craters. But there are tens of thousands of impact craters on Mars, so we don’t know exactly where on the planet the meteorites came from. One of the best clues you can use to determine their source crater is the age of the samples .”
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