Northwest Africa 1669

Morocco

Purchased 2001 January

Martian meteorite (basaltic shergottite)

A single stone weighing 36 g was bought in Erfoud by Bruno Fectay (Fectay). The location of its find is unknown but Al Mala’ika was used as working name. The sample is mostly covered with desert varnish with a few remnants of fusion crust. Classification and mineralogy (A. Jambon and O. Boudouma, UPVI; J.–A. Barrat, UAng; M. Bohn, Brest): fine-grained basaltic rock consisting mainly of zoned pyroxenes with intergrowths of pigeonite En58–25Wo9–19Fs32–61 and augite En19–47Wo39–24Fs54–18; FeO/MnO ratio of 34 (n = 312). Maskelynite (Ab41–53Or1–6An58–42) appears to be injected between pyroxene phenocrysts. Accessory minerals include pyrrhotite, merrilite, apatite, ulvöspinel, ilmenite, silica, and baddeleyite. Small melt pockets with stishovite occuring as submicrometer-sized needles. Pyroxene cores are cut by large- and medium-sized fractures, whereas their rims are affected by numerous small fractures. Maskelynite is only affected by a few major fractures. Terrestrial calcite is present mainly as veins cross-cutting the meteorite, as in many other Saharan finds. Oxygen isotope composition (I. A. Franchi, OU): δ¹⁸O = +0.30‰; δ¹⁷O = +2.85‰; ∆¹⁷O = +4.91‰. Specimen; main mass, Fectay; type specimen, 7.4 g, ENSL.