Mars rock in for closer look

A FRAGMENT of the surface of Mars has made its way to a Scottish laboratory.

Scientists at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) have obtained a piece of a Martian meteorite that fell to Earth last year.

By examining the 0.2 gram fragment of the Tissint meteorite, they hope to have a clearer idea of when it left Mars and how long it spent in space.

Mass spectrometer equipment will measure how much of the elements helium, neon and argon are in the fragment, showing how long the meteorite was exposed to cosmic radiation and how long ago it left Mars.

The meteorite, named after the area of Morocco where it landed, is one of just 61 Martian meteorites to have been found on Earth.