These martian crustal rocks were ejected into space when another (asteroidal or cometary) object collided with Mars with enough force to launch some of the impact-produced debris into Earth-crossing orbits.
Martian meteorites are distinguished from Earth rocks and other meteorite types by their chemical and mineral composition, as well as their age. Moreover, gases trapped in shock glass in martian meteorites have been matched to measurements of the martian atmosphere taken by the NASA Viking mission in 1976.
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Click on the images below to learn about some of the martian meteorites in the ASU Center for Meteorite Studies collection!
