[meteorite-list] New Mars Meteorites Reunited After Long Split

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:04:49 2004
Message-ID: <200205151606.JAA09187_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/05/15/mars.meteorites/index.html

New Mars meteorites reunited after long split
By Richard Stenger
CNN
May 15, 2002

(CNN) -- Separate nomadic bands in northwest Africa have discovered two
martian meteorites, bringing the total of identified red planet rocks to 26,
NASA announced this week.

One of the specimens consisted of two fragments found in a bountiful
meteorite hunting ground and rejoined after thousands of years of
separation.

Nomadic Berbers who search for precious rocks are reluctant to reveal where
they find meteorites, which can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars from
collectors.

According to NASA researchers, the new meteorites were likely recovered in
eastern Morocco or western Algeria.

In March, veteran meteorite hunters Adam and Greg Hupe were in Seattle,
Washington, looking at prospective meteorites sent from Morocco when an
unusual shard caught Adam's eye.

"When Adam spotted a Mars rock in a dealer's batch of suspected meteorites,
the nomads returned to the spot where they gathered it and discovered a
second Mars rock 50 feet [15 meters] away," said NASA's Ames Research Center
in a statement.

The Hupes obtained the second fragment and found that it fit perfectly with
the first, despite the fact the two had weathered the blistering desert
conditions separately for millennia. Together, the halves weigh 11 ounces
(315 grams).

In February, the Hupes purchased another red planet meteorite, weighing 16
ounces (456 grams), at a gem and mineral show in Tucson, Arizona. Likewise,
the stone is thought to have landed in the Sahara desert.

"[It] is believed to have found in western Algeria, but this is hard to
confirm because the Berber nomads will not disclose its exact location,"
said a report on NASA's Mars meteorite Web site.

The origin of the rocks, dubbed NWA 998 and NWA 1195, was verified with the
help of scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle and the
Carnegie Institute in Washington, D.C.

An estimated 20,000 meteorites strike the Earth every year, but only a
handful are thought to come from Mars. The most controversial red planet
specimen, known as ALH84001, is thought by some to contain fossilized
evidence of microbial life.

Scientists speculate that Mars meteorites broke off from the red planet and
floated through space for eons as the result of violent collisions with
comets or asteroids.
Received on Wed 15 May 2002 12:06:22 PM PDT