| Mars Meteorites |  |
The Los Angeles Meteorite |
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A Mars meteorite stone (shergottite) weighing 245.4 grams. |
Of the 24,000 or so meteorites that have been discovered on Earth, only 34 have been identified as originating from the planet Mars. These rare meteorites created a stir throughout the world when NASA announced in August 1996 that evidence of microfossils may be present in one of these Mars meteorites.
The meteorites in the table below are grouped by their pairings and listed roughly in the order that they were found.
| Meteorite Name | Location Found | Date Found | Mass (g) | Type |
| Chassigny | France, Haute-Marne province, village of Chassigny | October 3, 1815 | ~4,000 | dunite (chassignite) |
| Shergotty | India, Bihar State, town of Shergahti | August 25, 1865 | ~5,000 | basaltic shergottite |
| Nakhla | Egypt, El-Baharnya, village of El-Nakhla | June 28, 1911 | ~10,000 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Lafayette | United States, Indiana, Lafayette | 1931 | ~800 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Governador Valadares | Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, city of Governador Valadares | 1958 | 158 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Zagami | Nigeria, Katsina Province, Zagami Rock | October 3, 1962 | ~18,000 | basaltic shergottite |
| ALHA 77005 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Allan Hills | December 29, 1977 | 482 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
| Yamato 793605 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Yamato Mountains | 1979 | 16 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
| EETA 79001 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Elephant Moraine | January 13, 1980 | 7,900 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| ALH 84001 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Allan Hills | December 27, 1984 | 1,939.9 | orthopyroxenite |
| LEW 88516 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Lewis Cliff | December 22, 1988 | 13.2 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
| QUE 94201 | Antarctica, Victoria Land, Queen Alexandra Range | December 16, 1994 | 12.0 | basaltic shergottite |
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Dar al Gani 476
Dar al Gani 489 Dar al Gani 735 Dar al Gani 670 Dar al Gani 876 Dar al Gani 975 Dar al Gani 1037 |
Libya, Sahara Desert | May 1, 1998
1997 1996-1997 1998-1999 May 7, 1998 August 21, 1999 1999 |
2,015 2,146 588 1,619 6.2 27.55 4012.4 |
olivine-phyric shergottite |
| Yamato 980459 | Antarctica, Yamato Mountains | December 4, 1998 | 82.46 | basaltic shergottite |
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Los Angeles 001
Los Angeles 002 |
United States, California, Mojave Desert | October 30, 1999 October 30, 1999 |
452.6 245.4 |
basaltic shergottite |
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Sayh al Uhaymir 005 Sayh al Uhaymir 008 Sayh al Uhaymir 051 Sayh al Uhaymir 094 Sayh al Uhaymir 060 Sayh al Uhaymir 090 Sayh al Uhaymir 120 Sayh al Uhaymir 150 Sayh al Uhaymir 125 Sayh al Uhaymir 130 Sahy al Uhaymir 131 |
Oman, Sayh al Uhaymir | November 26, 1999 November 26, 1999 August 1, 2000 February 8, 2001 June 27, 2001 January 19, 2002 November 17, 2002 October 8, 2002 November 19, 2003 January 11, 2004 January 11, 2004 |
1,344 8,579 436 233.3 42.28 94.84 75 107.7 31.7 278.5 168 |
olivine-phyric shergottite |
| Dhofar 019 | Oman, Dhofar | January 24, 2000 | 1,056 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| GRV 99027 | Antarctica, Grove Hill | February 8, 2000 | 9.97 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
| Dhofar 378 | Oman, Dhofar | June 17, 2000 | 15 | basaltic shergottite |
| Northwest Africa 2737 | Morocco | August 2000 | 611 | dunite (chassignite) |
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Northwest Africa 480 Northwest Africa 1460 |
Morocco | November 2000 December 2001 |
28 70.2 | basaltic shergottite |
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Y000593 Y000749 Y000802 |
Antarctica, Yamato Mountains | November 29, 2000 December 3, 2000 ?? |
13,700 1,300 22 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Northwest Africa 817 | Morocco | December 2000 | 104 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Northwest Africa 1669 | Morocco | January 2001 | 35.85 | basaltic shergottite |
| Northwest Africa 1950 | Morocco | January & March 2001 | 797 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
| Northwest Africa 856 | Morocco | March 2001 | 320 | basaltic shergottite |
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Northwest Africa 1068 Northwest Africa 1110 Northwest Africa 1775 Northwest Africa 2373 |
Morocco, Maarir
Morocco, Erfoud |
April 2001 January 2002 2002 August 2004 |
654 118 25 18.1 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| Northwest Africa 998 | Algeria or Morocco | September 2001 | 456 | clinopyroxenite (nakhlite) |
| Northwest Africa 1195 | Morocco, Safsaf | March 2002 | 315 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| Northwest Africa 2046 | Algeria, Lakhbi | September 2003 | 63 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| MIL 03346 | Antarctica, Miller Range of the Transantarctic Mountains | December 15, 2003 | 715.2 | nakhlite |
| Northwest Africa 3171 | Algeria | February 2004 | 506 | basaltic shergottite |
| Northwest Africa 2626 | Algeria | November 2004 | 31.07 | olivine-phyric shergottite |
| YA1075 | Antarctica | ?? | 55 | peridotite (lherzolitic shergottite) |
Please direct questions and comments about this home page to
Ron Baalke
Jet Propulsion Laboratory