This morning I read the following in De Standaard: “The meteorite that crashed in Morocco last summer appears to come from Mars.” (http://www. Standaard.be/ artikel/detail.aspx? artikelid=GC33L3FKM)
I can still understand that after examining the rock of a meteorite it is possible to deduce that it is not terrestrial material.
But how can one be sure that a meteorite comes from Mars?
Answer
A detailed answer to this question can be found at:
http://www.lifeinuniverse.org/MMorigin-06-01-06-03.html
the bottom line is, this group of meteorites is distinctly different in composition from what is commonly found in the vast majority of meteorites. Their different but similar composition also indicates a common origin. Here on earth we know the composition of rocks from the earth (of course!), the moon (Apollo) and Mars (The 1976 Viking landings on Mars). It now appears that this group corresponds to the specific properties of Martian rocks.
These chunks may have been thrown into the interplanetary medium as a result of a large impact on Mars. After many millions of years flying around in the solar system, some pieces of debris have fallen to Earth.
A geologist may be able to supplement this earlier astronomical answer with details about the differences of elements and isotopes in these meteorites, and exactly what condition they are trapped in the meteorite.
Answered by
prof.dr. Paul Hellings
Department of Mathematics, Fac. IIW, KU Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.