NWA 7034, also recognized as “Black Beauty,” constitutes an extraordinarily dark, almost 11-ounce (320 grams) space rock that started on the planet Mars.(Image credit: NASA)
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A multitude of minuscule fragments of ancient water are secured within one of the most venerable and prominent Martian meteorites to ever fall onto our planet, according to a recent investigation. The astounding discovery, realized utilizing a novel type of “neutron scanning,” divulges more insights into the Red Planet’s aquatic history, which may have arranged conditions for extraterrestrial life to flourish.
Meteorite NWA 7034, more frequently referred to as Black Beauty, comprises an estimated 11-ounce (320 grams) segment of Mars that was launched when another celestial object collided with the Red Planet. It was located in 2011 by wanderers in the Moroccan region of the Sahara Desert, although its time of arrival on Earth remains unspecified. The meteorite has subsequently gained recognition for its somber shade, which has been additionally emphasized through thorough polishing on one of its surfaces.
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Since 2013, investigators have been aware that Black Beauty encompassed remnants of water. Additional current evaluations of the meteorite have brought forward evidence that this water may have been partly warmed, cultivating expectations that Martian organisms may have previously flourished in tepid waters on the Red Planet.
Nonetheless, up until now, scientists have been compelled to sever and eradicate diminutive fragments of the meteorite to adequately probe the water imprisoned within, which has restrained the extent of information they can derive from it, according to Universe Today.
Scientists had previously traced Black Beauty back to the Karratha crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
However, in the recent investigation, published on Jan. 13 on the preprint repository arXiv, researchers detail that a new scanning technique has empowered them to generate the primary thoroughgoing assessment of the meteorite’s complete water concentration.
This inquiry revealed that water presumably constitutes roughly 0.6% of Black Beauty’s weight, which is commensurate with a fragment of the rock approximating the proportions of a human fingernail, as informed by Universe Today. While this might not sound like a substantial quantity, it surpasses previous estimations considerably.
The majority of this water is contained within minute portions, or clasts, of hydrogen-abundant iron oxyhydroxide (FeHO2), akin to the chief component of corrosion and develops when iron reacts with water under intense pressure, such as during a meteor strike.
During the new investigation, researchers deployed a variant of CT scanning, which constructs an interior depiction of malleable subjects, such as the human body, employing X-rays. Nonetheless, in lieu of employing electromagnetic radiation, the team bombarded the meteorite with neutrons, which confirmed to be notably effective at pinpointing hydrogen atoms entrenched within the incredibly compact sample.
You can witness this procedure in action for yourself via a YouTube video distributed by one of the researchers.
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Water on Mars
Proof suggests that Mars was previously habitat to vast Earth-resembling seas, amplifying optimism that it formerly fostered extraterrestrial life.
It presents a challenge to imagine that the dusty reddish orb Mars exists as today was previously a watery world. Nevertheless, an augmenting quantity of evidence implies the planet formerly maintained broad, Earth-equivalent oceans until approximately 3 billion years ago.
Most of this water has subsequently vanished, although a fraction of it endures in the guise of icy panels deposited adjacent to the planet’s equator, frigid buildups at the apex of Martian mountains, and a sizable subterranean tank unearthed in 2024.
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Black Beauty is commonly esteemed as the earliest direct validation of water on Mars, so it could assist in uncovering the means by which Mars initially amassed its formerly copious water. As a consequence, scientists are interested in further scrutinizing its internal structure.
Considering that NASA recently halted its Mars sample-return mission, which would have conveyed specimens gathered by the Perseverance rover back to Earth, meteorites like Black Beauty remain the singular avenue to directly investigate Martian water.
Harry BakerSocial Links NavigationSenior Staff Writer
Harry serves as a senior staff writer situated in the U.K. at Live Science. He pursued marine biology at the University of Exeter prior to preparing to become a journalist. He reports on a broad range of subjects including space surveillance, planetary science, space meteorology, climate shifts, animal behavior and paleontology. His modern endeavor on the solar peak acquired “best space submission” at the 2024 Aerospace Media Awards and was shortlisted in the “top scoop” division at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence in 2023. He likewise composes Live Science’s Earth from space series weekly.
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Strangely bleached rocks on Mars hint that the Red Planet was once a tropical oasis