The study identified when water interacted with the meteorite and established that the dating was unaffected by events after it left Mars.

A sliver of Martian rock that once lay hidden in a university drawer has helped researchers better understand the Red Planet’s geological history. Using isotopic dating, a team at Purdue University has determined that the “Lafayette Meteorite” likely interacted with liquid water approximately 742 million years ago.

Researchers from Purdue University have confirmed the so-called Lafayette Meteorite encountered Water before it left Mars behind. The unlikely journey that brought the Lafayette Meteorite to Purdue University’s Department of Earth,