NASA Plans on Delivering Meteorites to Mars Like This...

 

as it turns out meteorites falling to  earth are more common than you'd think  plenty remain somewhat intact as they  partially survive the stresses of  entering our atmosphere  to date 126 of the 60 000 or so outer  space rocks that have touched down on  earth  have been confirmed to be of martian  descent  we've decided to return one such rock  back to the red planet  but how and why welcome to fact nominal  today we're sending shooting stars back  where they came from in  how nasa will deliver meteorites to mars  the mission planning the perseverance  rover is reaching its destination of  mars after a journey of nearly 300  million miles  even before it makes its much publicized  seven minutes of terror descent  through the thin atmosphere of the red  planet the next phase of exploration has  already passed the review phase  and entered the planning phase a review  board was set up in august specifically  to evaluate  how to take meteorites of martian origin  back to their origin  the process is called reverse sample  transfer and serves as a great  opportunity for a practice run and  working out the protocols needed  to eventually bringing fresh soil and  rock samples back to earth  there are talks that a subsequent rover  may be sent to mars between the  perseverance and the plan man mission  it will be similarly powered using a  plutonium source to provide backup  energy in areas where sunlight  cannot hit the panel and sufficiently  charge the onboard batteries  mars is famous for its dust storms that  plague mars surface  and played havoc with past robotic  explorers  the multi-mission radioisotope  thermoelectric generator  or mmrtg has enough juice to power the  rover for 14 years  and carries a price tag of 75 million  dollars alone  there were a few notable contenders out  of the 126 martian meteorites that were  considered before one was finally chosen  by the review board for the perseverance  mission  a quick nomenclature but first how are  meteorites named  there are actually strict international  guidelines setting out how to catalog a  found space rock  common misconceptions that fallen  meteorites should be named after the  nearest post office or populated area  are old wives tales generally they are  given the name of the nearest unique  geological feature  followed by a number denoting which  fragment piece they are  or a letter that separates them from  others that have touched down in the  same area  the one may be containing life allen  hills 84001  is a meteor fragment that was found in  the allen hills area of antarctica  by a team of american meteorite hunters  in 1984  it was immediately identified as a  suregotite  noclite chassignite or snc class of  meteorite  and one of likely martian origin this is  the rock that made headlines worldwide  in 1996  when a group of scientists made a  controversial claim that there was  microscopic evidence of fossilized life  inside the sample this led then u.s  president bill clinton to address the  nation and give a speech about the  significance and ramifications of the  potential discovery  the rock itself is thought to be one of  the oldest we've uncovered  forming its crystallized structure from  molten rock 4.091 billion years ago  it's suspected to be from the period in  mars history where it was 64 degrees  fahrenheit  also a time where carbon dioxide and  liquid water existed on the surface  it was dislodged from the surface layer  of mars by another meteorite strike  17 million years ago before making its  way to earth  13 000 years ago a timeline confirmed by  carbon dating the many different  radioisotopes found inside  sadly the 20 to 100 nanometer diameter  chain structure seen in 1996  thought and to resemble bacteria are now  widely accepted as  inconclusive by the scientific community  the smallest bacteria here on earth is  100 to 200 nanometers in size  and the one thought to be seen in the  rock is just too small to contain all  the cellular structures needed to  sustain life  but in a complete 360 a new study  identified native organic molecules  containing carbon  and nitrogen that were found within  carbonate materials  carbonate materials that only form in  groundwater  it points to the likelihood that there  was a wet and potentially habitable time  in mars history  coinciding with the presence of organic  molecules that we know  are a precursor to primordial life  the young one unlike the others in the  short list  the sai al-uamir or sau008 meteorite  is a much younger rock and spend a lot  less time in space  it's a member of a family of grey green  stones that were found in oman back in  1999 within a mile radius of each other  with the largest piece coming in at a  hefty 17 pounds  it's breathtaking a finely ground base  of pigeonite  and plagioclase otherwise known as  martian basalt  containing much larger olivine crystals  that shine the colors of the rainbow  it's thought that it was formed 450  million years ago before cracking off  the martian surface  between six hundred thousand years ago  and arriving on earth  one thousand years ago it's worth more  than 125 times its weight in gold  just one ounce will cost you over 280  thousand dollars  tiny bubbles of gas are trapped inside  the rock that perfectly mimic the  current atmospheric composition  of mars the black beauty  northwest africa 7034 is a mosaic of  glass  minerals and rock no bigger than a penny  the various layers and structures  contained within are only as thick as  strands of wool  giving it a uniquely modeled dark  obsidian appearance  and earning it the moniker of the black  beauty it was believed to be found  somewhere in the great atsopti region of  the western sahara desert in 2001  and was sold to a rare mineral collector  in the us by a morocco-based meteorite  dealer  as such no nearest geological feature  can be confirmed  and instead it has been given the name  of the general geographic region  it's an unusual combination of adenosine  pigeonite and again  consistent with martian ground mass with  evidence of quenched magma pockets  it's unique in the sense that it  contains the highest water content ever  measured in a meteorite  and proof that water existed on mars 4.4  billion years ago  during a period of volcanic activity  under a great ocean  this realization points to the  possibility that water formation  is a natural byproduct in the process of  early planet formation  significant not only in answering the  big question of where water comes from  but also  if it was once present on other rocky  planets in both our own solar system  and others the main event  after much deliberation the sample  return board decided on sau008  as the lucky winner of a free trip back  home the decision was made based on  multiple criteria  the first is size there is a lot more of  sau008 to go around  and taking a thin slice for scientific  purposes will not damage or degrade the  sample in general  nearly as much as other smaller rocks  the second is toughness  this particular meteorite is nowhere  near as fragile as others that have  survived the fall to earth  nasa scientists have described it as  being as tough as an old boot  and more than capable of surviving the  bumpy ride as the perseverance touches  down on mars  the third is utility the whole notion of  returning a piece of mars back to the  planet may seem silly  but there is actually a very good reason  why nasa have gone to so much trouble  in finding the perfect piece for their  needs sau008 is an example of what  scientists believe the crust of mars  consists of  it makes sense that the specialist  spectrometer carried on the underside of  the perseverance rover be calibrated  with the highest possible accuracy  the scanning habitable environments with  raman and luminescence for organics and  chemicals detector  is a bit of a mouthful so in the spirit  of carrying out martian detective work  it was given the acronym  sherlock we suspect there are some sir  arthur conan doyle fans who work in the  nessa laboratories  though it's highly unlikely that their  robot will uncover any giant hounds  roaming the red surface of mars  as described in his classic novel this  sherlock spectrometer is tasked with  analyzing the composition of rocks  before deciding to take a sample  and having a chunk of newly formed  martian rock handy in the form of the  sliver of sau008  means performing the most accurate and  reliable study possible  the rock itself as well as the gas  bubbles trapped within will serve as a  baseline for any calibrations required  to maintain the effectiveness of the  equipment  sherlock is just one piece of the puzzle  with the perseverance testing nine other  different materials in the atmosphere of  mars  to assess their durability in such an  environment  some of these materials could be used to  construct the spacesuits for the future  manned mission to mars  astronaut safety is of paramount  importance and sherlock will do its part  to help develop the materials  the secondary effect of using a real  martian space rock and not some  artificially created mimic  is the publicity factor some something  so unique and done for the first time  had grabbed headlines and piqued the  attention and curiosity  of the public