Mars meteorite

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blueline

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I've heard that meteorites from Mars are identified as such by the ratios of oxygen isotopes they contain. How was the "ground truth" of this method determined? Since no martian sample has ever been brought back to Earth, did one of the early landers (Viking?) measure ratios of oxygen isotopes?
 
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heliox

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Correct, early landers amongst other things measured isotopic ratio of certain elements as well as atmospheric composition. (pror to the landers we had spectroscopic approximations of the atmosphere but not as accurate).<br /><br />Using these two things theyve been able to deduce several meteorites probably came from Mars.<br /><br />
 
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vogon13

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I think dueterium has been detected in Martian atmosphere from earth. Probably other gases and isotopes by now too.<br /><br />So there is most likely confirmation of Viking findings too.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>
 
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