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Re: Is Martian Meteorite Lucky 13?
- To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
- Subject: Re: Is Martian Meteorite Lucky 13?
- From: Darryl Pitt <dpitt@interport.net>
- Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 21:59:55 -0400
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- Resent-Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 21:59:16 -0400 (EDT)
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Dear Ron & List:
There is a Martian detail that could use a little tweaking:
"Out of the worldwide collection of 20,000 meteorites, only 12 have been
proven to come from Mars. All of the dozen are owned by museums or the US
Government."
GV is privately owned, and I would have thought that the Japanese
Government (Institute of Polar Research) owns Yamato 793605.
In any event, many congratulations to the industrious consortium
responsible for recovering #13 in addition to their other recent finds.
Very impressive.
With regards to all.
Darryl
Planetary Science Research Institute
> PRESS RELEASE - 10th AUGUST 1998
>
> IS 'MARTIAN' METEORITE LUCKY 13?
>
> Open University researchers will announce on Monday
> if meteorite samples flown to the UK for analysis
> this week did originate from Mars.
>
> If authenticated, it could provide the next
> breakthrough in the search for evidence of life on
> the red planet and will almost certainly make its
> prospector finder a millionaire.
>
> Out of the worldwide collection of 20,000 meteorites,
> only 12 have been proven to come from Mars. All of
> the dozen are owned by museums or the US Government.
> The meteorite being analysed by the Open University
> was found in the Sahara Desert by a private
> prospector who, if his find is proved genuine, stands
> to earn US$1000 (or 620 English pound) a gram on the
> commercial market from the 2.2kg rock.
>
> The Sahara Desert find was announced at a
> Meteoritical Society conference in Dublin last week.
> A specimen was despatched immediately to the
> Planetary Sciences Research Institute (PSRI) at the
> Open University who are able perform the definitive
> test of authenticity, a sort of geochemical version
> of DNA typing involving oxygen isotopes.
>
> The experiment involves heating a sample with pulses
> of a laser beam in the presence of fluorine
> containing gas to displace oxygen from the silicate
> for measurement in a mass spectrometer.
>
> There is global scientific interest in the test
> results. An affirmative report would pave the way for
> further analysis that could unlock the secrets of
> Martian climatic history and provide evidence of
> conditions capable of supporting life.
>
> PSRI are the UK's leading research group on
> meteorites and Mars. They are championing the idea of
> Beagle 2, a British-built robot explorer that would
> be flown to Mars in 2003, carry out soil and rock
> analysis on the planet surface and transmit data back
> to Earth.
>
> Beagle 2 is being designed by an international
> consortium led by the Open University's Professor
> Colin Pillinger, and a full-scale model of the lander
> vehicle will be on display at Monday's media
> conference. Further information about the Beagle 2
> project is available from the Web site at
> http://beagle2.open.ac.uk/
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> 150mg of the new martian meteorite was made
> available for analyses at the PSRI.
> Less than 1% of this material is used for an
> oxygen isotope analysis.
>
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