Complete individual with glossy fusion crust with the appearance of liquid glass. The silicate matrix of the meteorite (light gray to pale yellow in color) is traversed by thin veins of black glass which also attest to the extreme shock experienced by this sample.

On 18 July 2011 a bright fireball exploded into many pieces over the Oued Drâa valley in Morocco, site of the country’s longest river. It was the most recent of only five observed falls of Martian meteorites. The determination of Martian origin is the result of research by scientists throughout the world. In addition to the more arcane markers in common, most Martian meteorites exhibit an unusually young crystalline age (indicating they cannot be from asteroids, which all cooled about 4½ billion years ago). Many Martian meteorites also contain water-bearing minerals, consistent with the evidence for water on Mars. The smoking gun of martian origin appeared in 1982 when minute amounts of gas found in tiny glassy inclusions in a suspected martian meteorite were analyzed—and found to match perfectly with the signature of the martian atmosphere as reported by NASA’s Viking missions. As is the case with lunar meteorites, the delivery mechanism is believed to be an asteroid impact that jettisoned material off the martian surface and into an Earth-intersecting orbit. Like many other martian meteorites, this specimen probably formed as a basalt flow at or near the surface of Mars. The grains of feldspar (a calcium-aluminum silicate mineral) were transformed into glass, a mark of the intense shock pressure experienced by the rock when it was blasted off the surface of Mars by an enormously energetic impact event.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.
49 mm x 45 mm x 30 mm
88.27g.

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.