Meteorite find: 'I carried Mars rock in hand luggage'
The Natural History Museum in London has acquired its largest Martian meteorite, which could hold new clues to life on Mars.
The 1kg piece of Tissint rock was paid for by an anonymous benefactor. It landed in Morocco last July and was retrieved quickly, resulting in minimal contamination with Earth.
Dr Caroline Smith, the museum's curator, told the BBC that Tissint's geochemistry will provide insights into past conditions on Mars - and the possibility that it may once have hosted life.
08 Feb 2012