4.1-billion-year-old Martian meteorite found in the Sahara offers clues to Mars's watery past

Summary

A rare Martian meteorite, Teghaza 001, is revealing previously hidden chapters of Mars's deep past. The rock was blasted off Mars by a giant impact long ago and eventually fell to Earth in the Sahara Desert. When the nearly 2-pound (800-gram) rose-colored rock was found in 2022, no one knew its age or origin. NASA-funded scientists age-dated its minerals and found it formed more than 4.1 billion years ago, making it one of the oldest known pieces of Mars. Scientists at the University of New Mexico helped identify the meteorite, which provides new evidence that Mars may once have had a wetter, Earth-like environment.

Timeline

1. Scientific American

   29 Oct 2026, 18:00 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that the meteorite Teghaza 001, blasted off Mars by a giant impact long ago, eventually fell to Earth in the Sahara Desert and is now revealing previously hidden chapters of Mars's deep past, calling it the oldest known Mars rock and a Rosetta stone for the planet's watery past.

2. NASA

   29 Oct 2026, 18:18 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that NASA-funded scientists age-dated the minerals of a rose-colored, nearly 2-pound (800-gram) rock found in the Sahara Desert in 2022 and found it is a piece of Mars that formed more than 4.1 billion years ago.

3. Phys.org

   29 Oct 2026, 23:30 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that scientists at the University of New Mexico played a key role in identifying the rare, 4.1-billion-year-old Martian meteorite, which provides new evidence that Mars may once have had a wetter, Earth-like environment.