Tag Archives: meteorite

New Analysis of Lunar Regolith: Challenging Meteorite and Water Formation Theories

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Planetary scientists examining oxygen isotopes in lunar soil from the Apollo missions have determined that 4 billion years of meteorite impacts may have contributed only a minimal amount of Earth’s water. This insight prompts a reevaluation of established theories regarding water’s origins on our planet.

Close-up of a relatively new crater to the southeast, captured during Apollo 15’s third lunar walk. Image credit: NASA.

Previous research suggested that meteorites significantly contributed to Earth’s water supply due to their impact during the solar system’s infancy.

In a groundbreaking study, Dr. Tony Gargano from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute, along with colleagues, employed a novel technique to analyze the lunar surface debris known as regolith.

Findings indicated that even under optimistic conditions, meteorite collisions from approximately 4 billion years ago may have delivered only a small percentage of Earth’s water.

The Moon acts as a historical archive, documenting the tumultuous events that the Earth-Moon system has endured over eons.

While Earth’s dynamic geology and atmosphere erase these records, lunar samples have retained valuable information.

However, this preservation is not without its challenges.

Traditional regolith studies have focused on metal-preferring elements, which can be obscured by continuous impacts on the Moon, complicating efforts to reconstruct original meteorite compositions.

Oxygen triple isotopes offer highly precise “fingerprints” since oxygen, being the most abundant element in rocks, remains untouched by external forces.

These isotopes facilitate a deeper understanding of the meteorite compositions that impacted the Earth-Moon system.

Oxygen isotope analyses revealed that approximately 1% of the regolith’s mass consists of carbon-rich material from meteorites that partially vaporized upon impact.

With this knowledge, researchers calculated the potential water content carried by these meteorites.

“The lunar regolith uniquely allows us to interpret a time-integrated record of impacts in Earth’s vicinity over billions of years,” explained Dr. Gargano.

“By applying oxygen isotope fingerprints, we can extract impactor signals from materials that have undergone melting, evaporation, and reprocessing.”

This significant finding alters our understanding of water sources on both Earth and the Moon.

When adjusted to account for global impacts, the cumulative water indicated in the model equates to only a minor fraction of the Earth’s oceanic water volume.

This discrepancy challenges the theory that water-rich meteorites delivered the bulk of Earth’s water.

“Our results don’t rule out meteorites as a water source,” noted Dr. Justin Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA Johnson’s Celestial Materials Research and Exploration Sciences Division.

“However, the Moon’s long-term record indicates that the slow influx of meteorites cannot significantly account for Earth’s oceans.”

While the implied water contribution from around 4 billion years ago is minimal in the context of Earth’s oceans, it remains notable for the Moon.

The Moon’s available water is concentrated in small, permanently shadowed areas at the poles.

These regions, among the coldest in the solar system, present unique opportunities for scientific research and exploration resources as NASA prepares for crewed missions to the Moon with Artemis III and subsequent missions.

The samples analyzed in this study were collected from near the lunar equator, where all six Apollo missions landed.

Rocks and dust gathered over half a century ago continue to yield valuable insights, albeit from a limited lunar area.

Future samples collected through Artemis are expected to unlock a new wave of discoveries in the years ahead.

“I consider myself part of the next generation of Apollo scientists, trained in the questions and insights enabled by the Apollo missions,” said Dr. Gargano.

“The Moon provides tangible evidence that we can examine in the lab, serving as a benchmark for what we learn from orbital data and telescopes.”

“I eagerly anticipate the information that upcoming Artemis samples will reveal about our place in the solar system.”

The findings of this study will be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Anthony M. Gargano et al. 2026. Constraints on impactor flux from lunar regolith oxygen isotopes to the Earth-Moon system. PNAS 123 (4): e2531796123; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2531796123

Source: www.sci.news

The Massive Meteorite Impacted Northwest Scotland 990 Million Years Ago.

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Recent research by Curtin University reveals that an ancient influence, previously believed to have occurred 1.2 billion years ago, actually took place 990 million years ago, leading to the formation of the STAC FADA member. This discovery corrects the dating of some of the UK’s oldest non-marine microfossils and their significance in the timeline of eukaryotic colonization on land.

STAC FADA member. Image credit: Tony Prave.

“We utilized small zircon crystals as geological ‘time capsules’ to accurately date the impact at 990 million years ago,” stated Professor Chris Kirkland from Curtin University.

“These tiny crystals recorded precise moments of impact, some transforming into the rare mineral Reidite, which forms under extreme pressure.”

“This provided irrefutable evidence that the meteorite strike initiated the STAC FADA deposit.”

“When a meteorite strikes, it partially resets the atomic clocks within the zircon crystal. Although these ‘broken clocks’ can’t generate dates, they developed a model to reconstruct timing, affirming the impact’s occurrence 990 million years ago.”

The impact events coincided with the earliest emergence of freshwater eukaryotes, the ancient precursors to plants, animals, and fungi.

“The new date indicates that these life forms in Scotland appeared roughly at the same time as the meteorite impact,” Professor Kirkland remarked.

“This presents intriguing questions about whether significant impacts could have affected environmental conditions, potentially influencing early ecosystems.”

“The impact crater has yet to be located, but this study has gathered additional clues that may eventually uncover its position.

“Understanding the timeline of meteorite impacts will enable us to explore their potential effects on Earth’s environment and the diversification of life beyond the oceans.”

The team’s findings will be published in the journal Geological.

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CL Kirkland et al. The impact of Scottish meteors 100 million years ago. Geological Published online on April 28, 2025. doi: 10.1130/g53121.1

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Mars: Evidence of Hydrothermal Activity Uncovered by Meteorite

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Scientists from Curtin University and the University of Adelaide analyzed 4.45 billion-year-old zircon particles from a famous Martian meteorite called North West Africa 7034 (NWA 7034) to determine the geochemistry of the water-rich fluid. They found a “fingerprint.”

Northwest Africa 7034. Image credit: NASA.

NWA 7034 weighs approximately 320 grams and is a regolith breccia from Mars.

This meteorite, better known as Black Beauty, was discovered in Morocco's Sahara desert in 2011.

NWA 7034 contains the oldest Martian igneous material ever discovered (approximately 4.45 billion years old).

Dr Aaron Cavosy from Curtin University said: “This discovery opens new avenues for understanding not only the past habitability of Mars, but also the ancient Martian hydrothermal systems associated with magmatic activity.” Ta.

“We used nanoscale geochemistry to detect elemental evidence of Martian hydrothermal waters 4.45 billion years ago.”

“Hydrothermal systems are essential for the development of life on Earth, and our findings show that Mars also had water, a key component of a habitable environment, during its early history of crustal formation.” It suggests that.

“Through nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, the research team identified the elemental pattern of this unique zircon, including iron, aluminum, yttrium, and sodium.”

“These elements were added when zircon formed 4.45 billion years ago, suggesting that water was present during early magmatic activity on Mars.”

The authors show that water was present in the early pre-Noachian period before about 4.1 billion years ago, even though the Martian crust withstood massive meteorite impacts that caused large-scale surface deformation. showed.

“A 2022 Curtin study on the same zircon particle found that it had been 'shocked' by a meteorite impact, making it the first and only known shocked zircon from Mars. “It turns out,” Dr. Kavosie said.

“This new study identifies telltale signatures of water-rich fluids when the particles formed and provides geochemical markers of water in the oldest known Martian crust. This brings us one step closer to understanding early Mars.”

of findings appear in the diary scientific progress.

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Jack Gillespie others. 2024. Zircon trace element evidence of early hydrothermal activity on Mars. scientific progress 10(47);doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq3694

Source: www.sci.news

Ancient Martian hydrothermal fluids leave a mark on meteorite crystals

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Mars meteorite called Black Beauty

Carl B. Agee (University of New Mexico)

Crystals within a Martian meteorite suggest Mars may have had abundant hydrothermal water when the rock formed 4.45 billion years ago.

The rock, called Black Beauty, was blown into space by an impact on Mars' surface and eventually crashed into the Sahara desert.

We already know a lot about Mars from the study of a meteorite discovered in Morocco in 2011, officially known as Northwest Africa 7034.

aaron cabosy Researchers at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, have been studying the tiny fragments, which contain zircon crystals 50 micrometers in diameter, for years.

Kavosie describes Black Beauty as “a rock that looks like a trash can.” Because it was formed by hundreds of pieces smashed together. “This is a great buffet of Martian history, with a mix of very old and very young rocks,” he says. “But much of the debris it contains belongs to some of the oldest rocks on Mars.”

The fragments studied by Kavosy and his team had crystallized in magma beneath Mars' surface. When they tested the zircons, they also found, unusually, that the elements iron, aluminum, and sodium were arranged in thin, onion-like layers.

“We wondered where else could we find elements like this in zircon crystals,” Kabosie says. The answer, he says, lies in South Australia's gold ore deposits. The zircon crystals there were nearly identical to those from Mars, including the same unusual combination of additional elements.

“This type of zircon is known to form only in places where hydrothermal processes or hydrothermal systems are active during igneous activity,” Kabosie says. “The hot water facilitates the transport of iron, aluminum, and sodium into the crystals as they grow layer by layer.”

Zircon has been exposed to multiple large-scale traumas, including the impact of an ancient collision and then another meteorite that hit the surface of Mars 5 to 10 million years ago and blasted Black Beauty into space have experienced. Despite these violent events, the rock's crystal structure is still intact at the atomic scale.

The lack of radiation damage means the extra elements were part of the crystal from the beginning, rather than being contaminated later, Kavosy said.

Eva Scherer Researchers at Stanford University in California believe that if this rock really formed in the presence of hydrothermal fluid and magma beneath the surface of Mars, water vapor entered the Martian atmosphere before rivers and lakes formed. This suggests that it may have been released.

“We're at a very old time, 4.5 billion years, when Mars was formed,” Scherrer said. “So this would be the earliest evidence of water behavior on Mars.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Study shows Lafayette meteorite minerals interacted with Martian water 742 million years ago

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Eleven million years ago, an asteroid hit Mars, sending debris flying through space. One of these masses eventually crashed into Earth. During initial investigation of this object, lafayette meteoritescientists discovered that it interacted with liquid water while on Mars. Now, researchers from the US and UK have determined the age of minerals in meteorites that formed when liquid water was present.

The Lafayette meteorite was scraped off the surface of Mars and then spent about 11 million years flying through space. It finally ended up in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and has been teaching scientists about Mars ever since. Image credit: Purdue Brand Studio.

A meteorite is a solid time capsule from a planet or celestial body in the universe.

They carry bits of data that can be unlocked by geochronologists.

They are distinguished from rocks you might find on Earth by the crust they form as they fall into the atmosphere, often forming a fiery portal visible in the night sky.

“We can identify meteorites by studying what minerals are in them and the relationships between these minerals,” said researcher Dr. Marissa Tremblay. states. purdue university.

“Meteorites are often denser than Earth's rocks, contain metals, and are magnetic.”

“We can also look for things like the fusion crust that forms when we enter Earth's atmosphere.”

“Finally, we can use the chemical properties of meteorites (particularly their oxygen isotope composition) to determine which planet they came from or what type of meteorite they belong to. ”

According to the authors, some Martian meteorites, such as the 0.8 kg Nacritite meteorite called the Lafayette meteorite, contain minerals that were formed by interaction with liquid water while on Mars. That's what it means.

“So by dating these minerals, we can tell when in Mars' geological past there was liquid water on or near the surface of Mars,” Tremblay said. .

“We dated these minerals in the Martian meteorite Lafayette and found that they formed 742 million years ago.”

“At this point, we don't think there was an abundance of liquid water on the surface of Mars.”

“Instead, we believe this water comes from melting nearby underground ice called permafrost, and that permafrost thaw is caused by magmatic activity that continues to occur regularly on Mars. ”

Researchers say the age derived from the timing of water-rock interactions on Mars is robust and the chronometer used is not affected by events that happened to the Lafayette meteorite, which changed in the presence of water. It was proved that.

“This age could be due to the impact of the Lafayette meteorite being ejected from Mars, the heating Lafayette experienced during its 11 million years floating in space, or the heating Lafayette experienced when it fell to Earth and burned up a bit. “in Earth's atmosphere,'' Dr. Tremblay said.

“But we were able to demonstrate that none of these things affected the chronology of water quality changes in Lafayette.”

“This meteorite has unique evidence that it interacted with water,” said Dr. Ryan Ickert, also of Purdue University.

“The exact date of this is controversial, and our publication dates from a time when water existed.”

“We know this because after this meteorite was ejected from Mars, it was bombarded with cosmic ray particles in space, producing specific isotopes at Lafayette,” Tremblay said. said.

“Many meteoroids are produced by impacts on Mars and other planets, but only a handful end up falling on Earth.”

of findings Published in this month's magazine Geochemical perspective letter.

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MM Tremblay others. 2024. Dating recent water activity on Mars. Letter from a geochemical perspective 32;doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.2443

Source: www.sci.news