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Martian rocks have been found on Earth, perhaps thrown clear of the planet in past cataclysmic events, such as the one which may have formed the Tarsus region. Above: The rock in which these features were discovered (D. McKay, NASA/JSC, circa 1996) was retrieved from Allen Hills, Antarctica, in 1984. The small, elongated objects may be fossil nano-bacteria, similar to those found in the oldest rocks on Earth. If so, then they represent the first Martians seen by human eyes! A considerable amount of evidence has been gathered from this specimen to strongly suggest a biological origin. However, it is also arguable that biology played no role in their formation, and that the features are merely the result or ‘ordinary’ geological/mineralogical processes. Since the rock was heated on its brief but rapid (order of 30,000 mph) flight through the Earth’s atmosphere before coming to rest in the Antarctic ice, scientists will have to await the return of pristine rock samples from the Martian surface to make a final determination.
Slide 16 of 20