Strange Pink Rock Found in Sahara Turns Out to Be Ancient Piece of Mars
A unique, rose-colored rock found in the Sahara Desert has turned out to be even more special beyond its charming color. Far from an ordinary desert stone, this one came from Mars, carrying with it a history stretching back more than 4 billion years.
Discovered in Mali in 2022, the nearly two-pound meteorite spent several years under scientific examination before researchers established its remarkable age and geological significance.
Its minerals preserve evidence of water interacting with the Martian crust more than 4 billion years ago, offering a rare look at conditions on Mars long before it became the cold, dry planet we know today.
In an Oct. 29 announcement, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shared the findings of a study published in Science. Named Teghaza 001 after the salt plain where it was found, the meteorite now ranks among the three oldest known pieces of Mars ever discovered on Earth.
Ancient Rock Reveals Its Secrets
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The investigation began when an unusual sample caught the attention of researchers at the University of New Mexico. There was something different about its mineral composition, something that set it apart from the Martian meteorites scientists had examined before.
A closer look revealed tiny zircon crystals, minerals capable of preserving evidence of a rock’s age across an extraordinary stretch of time. Researchers also turned to an advanced analytical technique to study individual mineral grains, working with a sample smaller than even a fingernail.
Researchers found evidence that water had altered Teghaza 001 approximately 4.1 billion years ago. Since the rock would have needed to form before that interaction occurred, its origins could date back even further into Mars’ early history.
“It was only after we started looking closely that we realized this meteorite is really unique,” explained Yang Liu, the study’s lead author and a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Its importance was not lost on others reviewing the research, either. Liu recalled that one reviewer went so far as to call it a “Rosetta Stone for Mars.”
What It Reveals About the Red Planet
Part of what makes Teghaza 001 so revealing is its unusual combination of volcanic minerals. These provide clues about how molten rock once cooled and solidified into the ancient Martian crust. Its chemistry tells another part of the story, suggesting that water later made its way through the rock beneath the planet’s surface.
As for where this remarkable traveler began its journey, scientists have a possible answer. The meteorite may have originated in Mars’ southern highlands, where spacecraft have identified minerals resembling those found in the sample. Its precise birthplace, however, remains a mystery.
Taken together, these findings add to the growing evidence of a Mars that once experienced a much more active water cycle than the cold, dry world we know today. Naturally, that raises questions about whether conditions on the ancient planet could have supported life. The meteorite itself offers no evidence that life existed there, although it has given researchers another valuable piece of the planet’s geological puzzle.
And for the scientists who spent so much time uncovering that history, the results were worth celebrating. University of Maine researcher Alicia Cruz-Uribe recalled the moment the age measurements finally came together, telling the University of Maine, “I think we actually jumped up and down; full-on dance party in the lab.”
