Sample Summary - Chassigny

Chassigny is a fall from 1815 in France and as such was one of the first meteorite falls to be recognized by scientists as a rock from space. It is curated by the Paris Museum. Chassigny is the only martian meteorite which is a dunite, or olivine cumulate. It consists mostly of Fe-rich olivine with minor clinopyroxene, feldspar, oxides, sulfides, and phosphates. It contains oxidized iron in its chromite and rare amphiboles in melt inclusions. It contains trace amounts of carbonate and sulfate salts in cracks inside the sample.

The bulk composition of Chassigny is that of a olivine-rich rock dominated by Fe and Mg. Like the nakhlites it has a light rare-earth enriched REE pattern. It has a crystallization age of 1.36 Ga and a cosmic ray exposure age of 9.4 Ma. Its terrestrial age is 181 years. The mineralogy, composition and chronology of Chassigny are similar to those of the nakhlites, except for modal differences. These results are consistent with an origin from the same parent magma on Mars.