Although two rovers are currently active on Mars, a mission to return samples of the Red Planet to Earth is still years away. The only Martian samples available to us are those that have been blasted off of Mars by impacts and have survived to reach Earth’s surface. These Martian meteorites can be subjected to a wide range of analyses on Earth. New analyses of Martian meteorite Yamato 000593 (Y000593) have revealed evidence of past water movement and biotic activity. The study was led by Lauren White of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with colleagues from Johnson Space Center. According to a JPL press release, Y000593 formed approximately 1.3 billion years ago as a lava flow cooled on Mars’ surface. Twelve million years ago, the area suffered an impact and Y000593 was ejected into space. The meteor finally plummeted into Earth 50,000 years ago, landing in Antarctica. It was discovered on Yamato Glacier in 2000 by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Read more http://thespacereporter.com/2014/03/signs-of-past-water-life-found-in-martian-meteorite/
