Researchers studying a class of martian meteorites known as shergottites have revealed new details about the differentiation that Mars experienced early in its history. The study is the first dataset of its type for martian shergottites with a range of Magnesium oxide (MgO) contents. Scientists believe that Mars experienced extensive differentiation after it formed from its planetary embryo. Shergottite meteorites are known to preserve evidence of events during the late accretion phase of the planet, and that affected the formation of Mars’ mantle.

The results of the study indicate that Mars may have accreted before the Earth. However, a constant flux of available materials in the first 50 to 100 million years of the Solar System led to broadly similar abundances of highly siderophile elements (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd, Re, Au) between Earth and Mars.

The paper, “Chondritic late accretion to Mars and the nature of shergottite reservoirs,” was published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. This work was supported by the Emerging Worlds Program. The NASA Astrobiology Program provides resources for Emerging Worlds and other Research and Analysis programs within the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) that solicit proposals relevant to astrobiology research.