Martian Lavas

There are approximately 15 meteorites that have been delivered from Mars to the Earth, and these provide some enticing clues to history of degassing of volaties from the Martian mantle. We have carried out experiments at MIT to reproduce the earliest crystallizing minerals in the Shergotty meteorite; the youngest of the Martian Meteorites (~135 million years old). We have determined that the Shergotty magma contained ~2 wt. % percent water prior to eruption on the Martian surface. This result points to volcanic recyling as a possible mechanism for getting water to Mars's surface. Interestingly, the other Shergottite meteorites show a range in pre-eruptive H2O contents from the maximum of ~2wt. % H2O to nearly anhydrous magmas.