A rock that spent more than four billion years preserving clues about Mars’ early history was found lying in the Sahara Desert, looking like an ordinary pink stone. Discovered in 2022, the 800-gram rock has since turned out to be one of the oldest Martian meteorites ever identified on Earth. Its mineral composition contains evidence of ancient volcanic activity and interactions between water and rock, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study what Mars was like billions of years before it became the cold, dry planet we know today.In a NASA report published on October 29, 2026, the agency detailed findings from a NASA-funded study of the meteorite, named Teghaza 001 after the salt plain in Mali where it was discovered. According to the primary source, NASA-funded researchers, including scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, determined that the rock formed more than 4.1 billion years ago. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide a new look at the formation of the Martian crust and the role water played in shaping the planet’s early surface.
How a pink rock from the Sahara turned out to be Martian
When Teghaza 001 was discovered, researchers did not immediately know its age or exact origin. Scientists at the University of New Mexico had already identified it as a Martian meteorite by examining its oxygen isotopes. These isotopes act like geochemical fingerprints, helping researchers distinguish rocks from different planetary bodies. However, the meteorite’s unusual texture and mineral composition caught the attention of Yang Liu, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Although Martian meteorites had been studied before, this specimen contained minerals and structures that made it particularly interesting.The rock is now considered one of roughly 435 Martian meteorites identified on Earth and among the three oldest known examples. Its importance lies in the variety of minerals it contains, which provide a more complete record of the planet’s early geological history.
What its minerals reveal about ancient Mars
Researchers found that Teghaza 001 contains a mixture of igneous minerals, which form when molten rock cools and solidifies. These minerals offer clues about how the Martian crust developed from magma. The rock also contains zircon crystals, which are particularly valuable to geologists because they preserve information about the conditions and timing of a rock’s formation. By studying these crystals and other mineral grains, scientists could establish the meteorite’s age and identify later changes caused by water.The team used an in-situ rubidium-strontium dating technique developed with contributions from researchers at the California Institute of Technology. Unlike traditional methods that require dissolving an entire sample, this technique examines individual mineral grains. The researchers needed only a piece smaller than a fingernail, allowing them to preserve most of the rare meteorite for future investigations. The analysis revealed that the rock had been altered by water around 4.1 billion years ago, suggesting that its original formation occurred even earlier.
Evidence of water on the Red Planet
One of the most significant aspects of the discovery is what it reveals about water on early Mars. The mineral chemistry, oxygen isotopes and textures suggest that water interacted with the planet’s crust during its early geological history. A separate study published in Science Advances in June 2026 examined the meteorite’s water content, providing further information about how water influenced the Martian surface.Lee Saper, a co-author of the research who conducted the work as a postdoctoral scholar at JPL, said the meteorite offered a rare sample of Martian crust from a region not previously represented in the collection of meteorites studied on Earth. He explained that it records interactions between water and rock and may even preserve traces of the Martian atmosphere from a period when the planet was losing water. These findings point towards a more dynamic water cycle on early Mars than scientists could previously reconstruct from many available meteorite samples.
Scientists still do not know its exact birthplace
Although researchers have confirmed that Teghaza 001 came from Mars, identifying its precise birthplace remains difficult. The team compared its mineral composition and chemistry with observations made by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and identified 13 possible locations on the planet that could match the meteorite.The rock’s characteristics are particularly similar to materials observed in Mars’ cratered southern highlands. However, scientists cannot yet establish which specific location produced it. Like other Martian meteorites, Teghaza 001 was thrown into space by a powerful impact on the planet’s surface before eventually travelling through space and reaching Earth.Researchers believe the meteorite could help answer questions about how the Martian crust formed, how water interacted with rocks and how the planet’s environment changed over billions of years. With further studies planned, scientists hope the unusual pink rock will provide more clues about Mars’ ancient past.
