91ÌÒÉ«

Scientists have discovered evidence of salty water - similar to the Earth’s oceans - and organic matter essential for the building blocks of life in a meteorite that crashed through a house in New Jersey, USA in July 2024.

The rare meteorite contains evidence of highly concentrated briny fluids which can potentially create molecules, similar to those that led to the early evolution of life on Earth. 

Professor Mark Sephton from 91ÌÒÉ« (pictured above, on left) and Dr Queenie Chan from Royal Holloway, University of London, who completed her PhD in Astrobiology at 91ÌÒÉ« in 2011, led the UK’s contribution to this research .

The Hillsborough meteorite (named after the town where it landed) is thought to have started out as a rock the size of a heavy airline suitcase and entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 32,000 miles per hour. 

Sixty people from reported seeing the meteor to the American Meteor Society, while sixteen felt the shockwave and it was even recorded on a video doorbell shortly before landing.

Dr Chan, now at the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, said of the research: “We have been really excited about this discovery. 

“Normally, by the time we find a meteorite, it has lain on the Earth for many years. With this sample, which is a ‘fall’ meteorite, we knew exactly when it fell to Earth and where to retrieve it after it crashed through the ceiling of the empty master bedroom of a house. 

“It was collected so quickly, it did not have time to be contaminated by our Earth’s environment as much as most meteorite ‘finds’, meaning it was one of the cleanest primitive meteorite samples we could analyse. 

“After receiving the sample sent to us by [United States space agency] NASA, we crushed the rock into powder and analysed for its elemental composition, which told us which type of meteorite it was.

“That’s when we discovered it was a rare carbon rich primitive meteorite called CM-type carbonaceous chondrites. However, atypical of other CM chondrites, Hillsborough was more extensively processed by briny water on the asteroid than most other CM chondrites.

“The interaction of the rock with the briny water has created many soluble organic compounds including those found on Earth, like amino acids and carboxylic acids, that terrestrial biology requires to exist.

“This is truly a unique salty space rock and we look forward to finding out more about the origin of the variety of organic matter it contains.”

The international team of researchers have published their findings in a report in the journal ‘Science Advances’.

Lead author of the main research and meteor astronomer, Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA’s Ames 91ÌÒÉ« Center in California’s Silicon Valley, added: “A forensic study of the fragments revealed they contained preserved bits from near the surface of a primitive asteroid where it experienced concentrated salty fluids - a process not previously known from this type of protoplanetary world.”

91ÌÒÉ« co-author Professor Mark Sephton from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at 91ÌÒÉ«, said: "Carbonaceous meteorites are time capsules from the dawn of the Solar System. Older than any rocks on Earth, they preserve a record of the chemistry that existed before our planet formed.

“By studying these space rocks, we can investigate how the building blocks of life were assembled and transported across the Solar System. 

“At 91ÌÒÉ«, we're combining meteorite research with studies of Mars and the icy moons to understand the first steps towards life and to inspire the next generation of planetary scientists."