The source craters of the martian meteorites: Implications for the igneous evolution of Mars.

Approximately 200 meteorites come from ~10 impact events on the surface of Mars, yet their pre-ejection locations are largely unknown. Here, we combine the results of diverse sets of observations and modeling to constrain the source craters for several groups of martian meteorites. We compute that ejection-paired groups of meteorites are derived from lava flows within the top 26 m of the surface. We link ejection-paired groups to specific source craters and geologic units, providing context for these important samples, reconciling microscopic observations with remote sensing records, and demonstrating the potential to constrain the ages of their source geologic units. Furthermore, we show that there are craters that may have produced martian meteorites not represented in the world's meteorite collections that have yet to be discovered.

Impact and habitability scenarios for early Mars revisited based on a 4.45-Ga shocked zircon in regolith breccia.

After formation of a primordial crust, early impacts influenced when habitable conditions may have occurred on Mars. Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 is a regolith breccia that contains remnants of the earliest Martian crust. The paucity of shock deformation in NWA 7034 was previously cited as recording a decline in giant impacts by 4.48 billion years and evidence for habitable Mars by 4.2 billion years ago. We present new evidence of high-pressure shock effects in a 4.45-billion year-old zircon from the matrix of NWA 7034. The zircon contains {112} shock twins formed in the central uplift of a complex impact structure after 4.45 billion years and records impact pressures of 20 to 30 gigapascals. The zircon represents the highest shock level reported in NWA 7034 and paired rocks and provides direct physical evidence of large impacts, some potentially life-affecting, that persisted on Mars after 4.48 billion years.

Age and composition of young basalts on the Moon, measured from samples returned by Chang'e-5.

Orbital data indicate that the youngest volcanic units on the Moon are basalt lavas in Oceanus Procellarum, a region with high levels of the heat-producing elements potassium, thorium, and uranium. The Chang'e-5 mission collected samples of these young lunar basalts and returned them to Earth for laboratory analysis. We measure an age of 1963 ± 57 million years for these lavas and determine their chemical and mineralogical compositions. This age constrains the lunar impact chronology of the inner Solar System and the thermal evolution of the Moon. There is no evidence for high concentrations of heat-producing elements in the deep mantle of the Moon that generated these lavas, so alternate explanations are required for the longevity of lunar magmatism.

An anomalous basaltic meteorite from the innermost main belt.

Triangulated observations of fireballs allow us to determine orbits and fall positions for meteorites. The great majority of basaltic meteorites are derived from the asteroid 4 Vesta. We report on a recent fall that has orbital properties and an oxygen isotope composition that suggest a distinct parent body. Although its orbit was almost entirely contained within Earth's orbit, modeling indicates that it originated from the innermost main belt. Because the meteorite parent body would likely be classified as a V-type asteroid, V-type precursors for basaltic meteorites unrelated to Vesta may reside in the inner main belt. This starting location is in agreement with predictions of a planetesimal evolution model that postulates the formation of differentiated asteroids in the terrestrial planet region, with surviving fragments concentrated in the innermost main belt.

Volatile fractionation in the early solar system and chondrule/matrix complementarity.

Bulk chondritic meteorites and terrestrial planets show a monotonic depletion in moderately volatile and volatile elements relative to the Sun's photosphere and CI carbonaceous chondrites. Although volatile depletion was the most fundamental chemical process affecting the inner solar nebula, debate continues as to its cause. Carbonaceous chondrites are the most primitive rocks available to us, and fine-grained, volatile-rich matrix is the most primitive component in these rocks. Several volatile depletion models posit a pristine matrix, with uniform CI-like chemistry across the different chondrite groups. To understand the nature of volatile fractionation, we studied minor and trace element abundances in fine-grained matrices of a variety of carbonaceous chondrites. We find that matrix trace element abundances are characteristic for a given chondrite group; they are depleted relative to CI chondrites, but are enriched relative to bulk compositions of their parent meteorites, particularly in volatile siderophile and chalcophile elements. This enrichment produces a highly nonmonotonic trace element pattern that requires a complementary depletion in chondrule compositions to achieve a monotonic bulk. We infer that carbonaceous chondrite matrices are not pristine: they formed from a material reservoir that was already depleted in volatile and moderately volatile elements. Additional thermal processing occurred during chondrule formation, with exchange of volatile siderophile and chalcophile elements between chondrules and matrix. This chemical complementarity shows that these chondritic components formed in the same nebula region.