Ancient Martian Meteorite Found in Algeria Rewrites Mars’ Geological Timeline
A 1.27‑billion-year‑old Martian meteorite found in Algeria (NWA 13441) blends shergottite rock with neodymium‑rich material typical of chondrites, suggesting Mars preserves ancient mantle components. This unexpected combination helps fill a vast gap in Mars’ geologic record (about 600 million to 2.4–2.5 billion years ago) and points to a previously unsampled Martian reservoir between enriched and depleted shergottite sources. Ongoing isotope analyses aim to link NWA 13441 to other early Martian rocks and shed light on ancient magmatic and volcanic activity on the Red Planet.