Worth Its Weight In Rock?
Feb
15
Written by:
2/15/2012 6:13 AM
If you were told that something was worth $1000 per gram--$28000 per ounce or $450000 per pound--you would be right to assume that is was an illicit substance likely bad to consume. If you heard that was the value placed on a rock consisting of basic metals and trace elements, you would again be right in thinking someone was crazy to spend the money. However, that is the market price if you wanted to purchase a gram of space rock that was blasted off the surface of Mars several million years ago and landed in Morocco in North Africa.
The meteorite was recently purchased with help of a donor by the Natural History Museum in London.
Mars Meteorite from Morocco
(credit: Natural History Museum, London)
The new meteorite was part of a shower of stones that fell to earth and found in Morocco last year. The Tissint meteorite, named after the Moroccan village where it was discovered, weighs ~2lbs and represents the largest Martian rock in the museum’s collection. According to researchers: “this is the most important meteorite to have fallen in 100 years. Martian meteorites are incredibly rare, and when they have been seen to fall and recovered quickly, they offer a unique insight into the Red Planet.”
Somehow saying that something is “worth its weight in space rock” doesn’t have quite the same cachet as being “worth its weight in gold”. However, times change and it is always interesting to learn more about the history and composition of Mars. The stone might even provide some additional clues about the early environment of Mars and its potential to support life.
WHB