Planetary Group Seminar: Geochemical and Petrological evidence for an "Old Moon" (R. Fonseca)

I will give an introduction into oxygen triple isotope analyses of meteorites, and their use in the exploration of the evolution of the solar system. I will then present data we have obtained on the unique meteorite NWA 7034 which is a basaltic breccia that is extremely water-rich. Based on geochemical evidence, we believe that it represents a sample of the Martian crust. This is an important meteorite, because geochemical data from NASA’s orbiter and lander missions suggest that the known martian meteorites are a mismatch for much of the martian crust. This rock may provide the missing meteorite link between known martian meteorites and Mars space craft data.