365

That is a meteor that is thought to contain material from Mars. There are some claims - controversial ones - that it contains remainders of Martian (microbial) life.

-Use magnetite to orient to N/S poles

-Have been around for a few Ga

-Magnetite-like crystals found in ALH84001

•Evidence for life

-Presence of small organic compounds called PAHs

-Small bacteria-shaped morphologies

-Magnetite crystals

Mars rock in question

Allan Hills 84001 or ALH84001 is a meteorite that was found in the south pole. It is thought to have originally come from Mars. Around 4 billion years ago, the rock was thought to have been ejected from the Martian surface by a large impact. The rock was then thought to have remained in space, until it came into contact with Earth around 13,000 years ago.

It is special as it is the only known martian rock to have been ejected from the martian surface during a time when there was thought to be liquid water on the planets surface, essential for life.

On examination of the rock, scientists saw `worm like` micro fossils, thinking that they were the remains of early martian life. These features have now been generally dismissed as early martian life forms, but the meteorite remains a very important find.