Scientists need to now study the garnet’s isotopic signatures to verify if it was originally produced on Mars or on another planetary body.
“Measuring oxygen isotopes from the garnet-bearing rock type itself would help to confirm if it is Martian in origin or from an exotic meteorite impactor,” Kizovski said. “Isotopes are a collection of atoms with equal numbers of protons and electrons, but different numbers of neutrons.”
However, that process would entail destroying some of the sample, “which was avoided thus far due to its rarity, as it may be the only garnet-bearing Martian rock we have for study,” she added.
ROM curator Kim Tait and Research Assistant Jessica Tomacic, together with Professor Darling, are continuing to study the sample. “With their work and more comparisons to rover and orbital data, I’m hopeful that we will be able to learn more about the origin and history of garnet on Mars,” Kizovski said.
The team’s study Expanding Mars’ lithologic diversity: discovery of a garnet-bearing clast in NWA 8171, was published Tuesday, June 16 in Geochemical Perspectives Letters.
This research project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Killam Trusts Dorothy Killam fellowship, as well as Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funding at Portsmouth.
