To many, the planet Mars represents the next step in human exploration. However the first travelers between planets are not humans at all, but meteorites. 

When a meteorite strikes Mars, debris flies away from heavy impacts, breaking free of the low gravity and floating through space. The thin Martian atmosphere contains a mixture of elements found nowhere else in the solar system, except within tiny glass, “shock-melt” pockets embedded inside a few, special Martian meteorites. This specimen is one of those rare meteorites.

Known as Zagami, this meteorite fell in rural Nigeria in 1962. Studies in the early 1990’s provided the first clues to the ratio of Argon isotopes in the Martian atmosphere. NASA’s Martian Rover Curiosity confirmed the ratio in 2013 through direct observation on Mars’ surface.

This particular specimen comes directly from Robert Haag, friend of Mini Museum and holder of the main mass. The same specimen features in the Second Edition of the Mini Museum.

Over millions of years, this meteorite travelled the solar system until it landed here on Earth, bringing with it air from another planet. This means that within the meteorite are pockets of Martian atmosphere, which were sealed inside during its creation.

Each specimen comes displayed in a cushioned gem jar. The jar is enclosed inside a classic, glass-topped riker display case that measures 4"x3"x1". A small information and authenticity card about the meteorite is also enclosed.

(📸 No, we didn’t hitch a ride to Mars. The background of this composite is NASA image PIA07997, taken by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on May 19th, 2005. To see the original image and learn more details visit NASA's photo page here. As for us, we’re just going to enjoy the view. 😎)

Though it is our closest planetary neighbor, the trip to Mars is still a major undertaking. To go from Earth to Mars would take 127 million miles of travel in the cold of outer space. Despite the major distance though, geologic visitors have made their way to Earth in the form of meteorites.

The surface of Mars is subject to frequent and powerful meteorite impacts. With a smaller atmosphere than Earth, meteorites rain down with much less air resistance and strike the planet faster and more complete. These heavy impacts eject huge amounts of sediment and debris, some of which can fly out of Mars’ low gravity and enter an escape orbit. When this happens, the impact debris floats through space for millions of years with some pieces eventually being caught in Earth’s gravity and becoming meteorites of their own.

These meteorites are classified as a part of the SNC (shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite) group and had long been thought to have come from a planetoid. When the Viking lander sent back geologic data from the planet, this theory was confirmed.

The largest discovered member of the SNC group is known as the Zagami meteorite. In 1962, the meteorite landed in Zagami, Nigera, smashing a deep hole only 10 feet away from a local farmer. When scientists began to study it though, they discovered something incredible. Within the meteorite were pockets of atmospheric gasses; trapped air from Mars.

When the impactor that sent the Zagami meteorite off the surface of Mars hit, it created a powerful shockwave of kinetic energy. This shock superheated the rock, instantly melting and crystalizing minerals within it. The sudden change caused samples of atmosphere from the surface of Mars to be frozen in the new geologic matrix and they travelled with the meteorite on its route to Earth.

The data that has been found in the Zagami meteorite has allowed scientists to study the chemical make up of the Martian atmosphere. Research has been done with the material to try finding evidence of ancient water and carbon cycles at work on the planet. For any manned missions to Mars this atmospheric data is incredibly useful, as understanding the air of a planet is the first step towards any plan to making it habitable.

This specimen is a fragment of the Zagami Martian meteorite that landed on Earth in 1962. Its recent appearance on our planet has made it an invaluable resource in studies of Mars as it has been relatively uncontaminated by terrestrial influences and remains a pure source of information about the makeup of the red planet.