IS MARTIAN METEORITE LUCKY 13?
Open University researchers will announce on Monday if meteorite samples flown to the UK for analysis this week did originate from Mars. If authenticated, it could provide the next breakthrough in the search for evidence of life on the red planet and will almost certainly make its prospector finder a millionaire. Out of the worldwide collection of 20,000 meteorites, only 12 have been proven to come from Mars. All of the dozen are owned by museums or the US Government. The meteorite being analysed by the Open University was found in the Sahara Desert by a private prospector who, if his find is proved genuine, stands to earn US$1000 (or 620 English pound) a gram on the commercial market from the 2.2kg rock. The Sahara Desert find was announced at a Meteoritical Society conference in Dublin last week. A specimen was despatched immediately to the Planetary Sciences Research Institute (PSRI) at the Open University who are able perform the definitive test of authenticity, a sort of geochemic
