description Lafayette Overview
Lafayette is a nakhlite, a type of igneous meteorite identified as originating on Mars. It was recognized in the collection of Purdue University in Indiana by 1931, although the circumstances and date of its arrival on Earth remain uncertain. Studies of alteration minerals within it, including clay and carbonate phases, have provided evidence that its Martian parent rock interacted with liquid water before being ejected from Mars.
insights Ranking position
Lafayette ranks #31 of 213 in the Meteorite ranking, behind Esquel, ahead of Renazzo.
help Lafayette FAQ
How did the Lafayette meteorite end up in a university collection?
The stone was recognized in a Purdue University geology collection in Indiana around 1931, but its original finder and exact recovery circumstances remain uncertain. Its unusual collection history has prompted several proposed explanations, none conclusively established.
How do scientists know Lafayette is a Martian meteorite?
Its igneous mineralogy links it to the nakhlite group, whose trapped gases and isotopic properties point to Mars. Lafayette is a clinopyroxene-rich volcanic rock rather than an ordinary asteroid chondrite.
What evidence of water was found inside Lafayette?
Researchers have identified alteration minerals, including clay and carbonate, that formed when the rock interacted with liquid water on Mars. These minerals record water-rock chemistry long before the meteorite was blasted away from the planet.
How is Lafayette related to the Nakhla meteorite?
Both are nakhlites, a small family named after the Nakhla meteorite that fell in Egypt in 1911. Their related mineralogy suggests they originated from Martian volcanic rocks with a shared geological history.
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