What We Have Learned About Mars from the Martian Meteorites

Meenakshi Wadhwa
Assistant Curator (Meteorites and Mineralogy)
The Field Museum Chicago, Illinois

Wednesday September 17, 1997

A small group of meteorites, believed to be pieces of Mars that were ejected from that planet when impact occurred between it and an asteroid or comet, eventually made their way to the Earth. Currently there are only 12 known Martian meteorites which have been collected from all over the world, including Antarctica. Dr. Wadhwa will outline the latest research on these Martian meteorites and what we have learned about the geological history of Mars from these rocks.

Bio Sketch
Dr. Meenakshi Wadhwa, received her B.S. and M.S. in Geology from Panjab University, India and her Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. After a position as a Postdoctoral Research Geochemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, she joined the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Wadhwa has over eight years experience studying planetary materials (meteorites and moon rocks), specifically regarding the chemical composition and age-dating of Mars (SNC) meteorites. In addition, she has participated in the meteorite collection efforts in Antarctica and has done geological fieldwork in India and the United States.