Know the secret of the origin of planet Mars

New Delhi: Munir Humayun, a scientist at Florida State University, has uncovered what may be the first recognized example of ancient Martian crust.Munir Humayun is a professor in FSU's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and a researcher at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab).Humayun report is based on an analysis of a 4.4 billion-year-old Martian meteorite that was unearthed by Bedouin tribesmen in the Sahara desert.According to the reports this meteorite may be the first recognized sample of ancient Martian crust and holds a wealth of information about the origin and age of the Red Planet's crust.In order to detect minute amounts of chemicals in this meteorite, Humayun and his collaborators performed complex analysis on the meteorite using an array of highly sophisticated mass spectrometers in the MagLab's geochemistry department. Using the chemical information found in pieces of soil contained in the meteorite, the researchers were able to calculate the thickness of Mars' crust. Their calculation aligned with estimates from independent spacecraft measurements and confirms that Mars did not experience a giant impact that melted the entire planet in its early history.Using a powerful microprobe at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, the team dated special crystals within the meteorite called zircons at an astounding 4.4 billion years old.This research revealed that the Mars had a crust within the first 100 million years of the start of planet building, and that Mars' crust formed concurrently with the oldest crusts on Earth and the Moon.Humayun and his collaborators are working on the subject and reports claim that further studies may reveal more clues about the impact history of Mars, the nature of Martian zircons and the makeup of the earliest sediments on the Red Planet.