Teghaza 001 Martian meteorite reveals ancient water on Mars

Scientists have confirmed that a rose-colored meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert is an ancient piece of Mars, dating back approximately 4.1 billion years. Named Teghaza 001 after the salt plain in Mali where it was recovered in 2022, the nearly 800-gram specimen is among the three oldest Martian meteorites ever found on Earth.

Research led by Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and published in the journal Science indicates that the meteorite contains zircon crystals that allowed for precise uranium-lead dating. The mineral composition, including high levels of manganese oxide, provides evidence that the Martian crust interacted with liquid water during the planet's early history. This suggests that Mars was once a much warmer and wetter environment than its current cold, arid state.

The discovery is being described by reviewers as a “Rosetta Stone for Mars” because it offers a rare, direct geological sample from the planet's early crust. Unlike many other Martian meteorites, Teghaza 001 contains a mix of igneous minerals that reveal how the crust formed from cooling magma before being altered by subsurface water.