Scientists are confirmed this week a recent and rare invasion from Mars: meteorite chunks from the red planet that fell in Morocco last July. The small rock refugees were seen in a fireball in the sky six months ago, but they were not discovered on the ground in North Africa until the end of December.
Scientists and collectors of meteorites are ecstatic, and already the rocks are fetching big money because they are among the rarest things on Earth.
A special committee of meteorite experts, which includes some NASA scientists, confirmed the test results this week. Astronomers believe millions of years ago something big smashed into Mars and sent rocks hurtling through the solar system. After a long journey through space, one of those rocks eventually landed on Earth. So far, no NASA or Russian spacecraft has returned bits of Mars, so the only Martian samples scientists can examine are those that come here in a meteorite shower.
The last time a Martian meteorite fell and was found fresh was in 1962.