Quick answer: Teghaza 001 is a Martian meteorite picked up in Mali in 2022 that NASA-led scientists have now dated to at least 4.1 billion years, placing it among the three oldest pieces of Mars known on Earth. The age-dating study, led by Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, appeared online in the journal Science on 29 October 2026.
Why Teghaza 001 is in the news
On 29 October 2026, a team led by Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) published a paper in Science showing that the rock crystallised no later than about 4.1 billion years ago, during the earliest chapter of Martian geology. NASA said the result gives “a rare snapshot” of how the planet’s first crust formed. Liu said one of the paper’s reviewers had called the meteorite “a Rosetta Stone for Mars”. It was recovered in 2022 and is named after the Malian salt flat where it lay.
An earlier paper on the same rock, published in Science Advances in June 2026, compared hydrogen and deuterium ratios. It concluded that Mars was already losing much of its early atmosphere, and with it water, to space about 4.1 billion years ago.
Key facts about Teghaza 001
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where found | Teghaza salt plain, Mali (Sahara Desert), recovered in 2022 |
| Mass | Eight fragments, about 798.5 g in total; the biggest piece weighs 442 g and is roughly 10 cm across |
| Rock type | Coarse-grained igneous rock, a plagioclase-rich gabbro that cooled slowly, probably below the surface |
| Age | About 4.11 billion years by uranium-lead dating of zircon; rubidium-strontium gives a consistent but less precise 4.24 billion years |
| Water evidence | Heavier-than-usual oxygen isotopes, pointing to contact with fluids rich in oxygen-18 |
| Likely source on Mars | Southern highlands, most probably the area north-west of the Hellas impact basin |
- NASA counts roughly 435 meteorites on Earth that have been identified as coming from Mars.
- The dating method, developed with Caltech’s Francis Tissot, analysed single mineral grains from a chip smaller than a fingernail.
How Teghaza 001 compares with other old Martian meteorites
The three common classes of Martian meteorites, shergottites, nakhlites and chassignites, all formed 2.4 billion years ago or later. Before Teghaza 001, only two older samples were known:
- Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001): crystallised about 4.1 billion years ago.
- Northwest Africa 7034 (“Black Beauty”): a breccia made of mixed fragments, some of which are older than 4.3 billion years.
Carl Agee, director of the University of New Mexico’s Institute of Meteoritics, put the difference this way: Black Beauty is a jumble of many rock types, while Teghaza 001 is a single, unmixed rock type that is at least 4.1 billion years old. The measured date may mark hot water moving through the rock soon after it formed, so it could be older still.
Meteoroid, meteor and meteorite: the basic terms
- Meteoroid: a small rocky or metallic body travelling through space.
- Meteor: the streak of light (“shooting star”) seen when a meteoroid burns up in the atmosphere.
- Meteorite: any piece that survives the fall and lands on the surface. Martian meteorites are pieces of crust blasted off Mars by impacts that later fell to Earth.
Exam angle: how NDA, CDS and CAPF can ask this
- General Science papers often test the meteoroid–meteor–meteorite difference.
- Radiometric dating (uranium-lead, rubidium-strontium) and the mineral zircon can appear in a question on how scientists measure the age of rocks.
- Mars missions are a regular current-affairs area: India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) and NASA’s Perseverance rover.
Practice MCQs
Q1. Teghaza 001, recently dated to at least 4.1 billion years, was found in which country?
(a) Morocco (b) Mali (c) Algeria (d) Niger
Answer: (b) — it was picked up on a Malian salt flat in 2022.
Q2. Which mineral’s crystals were dated by the uranium-lead method to fix the age of Teghaza 001?
(a) Olivine (b) Quartz (c) Zircon (d) Calcite
Answer: (c) — zircon grains gave an age of about 4.11 billion years.
Q3. A meteoroid that survives its passage through the atmosphere and strikes the ground is called a:
(a) Comet (b) Meteor (c) Meteorite (d) Asteroid
Answer: (c) — a meteor is only the light streak; the surviving rock is a meteorite.
Q4. Consider the following about Teghaza 001: 1. It is a gabbro, a coarse-grained igneous rock. 2. Its likely source lies in Mars’ northern lowlands. Which is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both (d) Neither
Answer: (a) — the study points to the southern highlands near the Hellas basin, not the northern lowlands.
Frequently asked questions
What is Teghaza 001?
It is a meteorite from Mars, found in Mali’s part of the Sahara in 2022. Scientists have dated it to at least 4.1 billion years, which makes it one of the three oldest Martian samples on Earth.
Who published the latest study on Teghaza 001?
A team led by Yang Liu of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Their paper came out online in the journal Science on 29 October 2026.
Does Teghaza 001 show that Mars once had water?
Yes. Its unusually heavy oxygen isotopes and minerals that were chemically altered on Mars suggest the rock interacted with water around 4.1 billion years ago.
Which other Martian meteorites are as old?
Allan Hills 84001, which formed about 4.1 billion years ago, and Northwest Africa 7034 (Black Beauty), some fragments of which are older than 4.3 billion years.
Which part of Mars did Teghaza 001 come from?
Researchers compared its chemistry with orbital data and suggest the southern highlands, most likely the region north-west of the Hellas impact basin.
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Sources: Sci.News (on Liu et al., Science), CBS News (citing NASA), Live Science, Science (doi 10.1126/science.adz5646). Facts as reported up to 4 November 2026.
Featured image background: NASA/JPL-Caltech / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
