NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover recently stumbled upon a large meteorite made of iron-nickel during one of its journeys. This one measures about 1-foot wide and the team named it ‘Cacao’, as it may slightly resemble the seeds found on the cacao tree right here on Earth. Some of these were ejected in the past during an impact event and traversed interplanetary space before landing on our planet.
Currently, there are three known groups of Martian meteorite: shergottites, nakhlites and chassignites, or SNC meteorites. They were grouped as such due to their elemental and isotopic compositions, which are similar to rocks and atmospheric gases on Mars, measured by orbiting spacecraft, surface landers as well as rovers like Curiosity. The most famous ungrouped meteorite would be Allan Hills 84001, as it boasts a different rock type from other Martian meteorites. More specifically, it’s an orthopyroxenite, or an igneous rock mainly composed of orthopyroxene.
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