.79" Martian Shergottite Meteorite (2.77 g) - Amgala 001

The Amgala 001 Meteorite

This is a very recent find: about 35 kilograms of this meteorite were found near the oasis of Meharrize in the Western Sahara in December 2022. It is a classic Martian shergottite, and cutting it reveals a grayish-green interior with olivine phenocrysts and numerous pale shock veins with some secondary calcite veinlets.

Meteoritical Bulletin: Entry for Amgala 001

About Martian Meteorites (Shergottites)

Martian meteorites are rocks that formed on Mars before being ejected due to asteroid impacts, traveling through space and landing on Earth as meteorites. As you might expect, Martian meteorites are quite rare, representing less than 0.5 percent of all classified meteorites. The total mass of all known Martian meteorites is only several hundred kilograms. Superficially, Martian meteorites look very similar to igneous rocks on Earth, so nearly all have been identified from regions naturally devoid of rocks like sandy deserts (Sahara Desert and Oman) and the Antarctic ice sheets.

The achondrite meteorites are subdivided into three classes; shergottites, nakhlites, and chassignites, which together are referred to as the SNC group of meteorites. These meteorites are interpreted as Martian in origin because they have elemental and isotopic compositions similar to rocks and atmospheric gasses on Mars.

Roughly three-quarters of all Martian meteorites can be classified as shergottites. Shergottites are igneous rocks of mafic to ultramafic lithology that may have crystallized as recently as 180 million years ago. This is unusual, since most of the surface of Mars appears to be ancient, and the planet itself is rather small. Because of this, some believe that shergottites are actually much older. This "Shergottite Age Paradox" remains unsolved and is still an area of active research and debate.