The Tissint Mars Meteorite
One July night, people in the Moroccan desert saw a bright fireball. The stones it scattered turned out to be from Mars.
What was reported
Around 2 am on 18 July 2011, people in the desert of south-eastern Morocco saw a bright yellow fireball turn green, then break apart with two loud bangs. Months later, nomads began finding black, glassy stones in the area near Tissint.
Scientists who examined them found gas bubbles trapped inside that matched the atmosphere of Mars, as measured by spacecraft.
Explanations offered
Tissint is a piece of Mars, blasted off by an impact about 700,000 years ago, which drifted through space before falling to Earth. It is only the fifth Martian meteorite ever seen to fall, which meant it was collected before it could be changed by Earth's weather, making it extremely valuable to science.
- When
- 18 July 2011
- Where
- Tata Province, Morocco
- Witnesses
- Nomads and local residents
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.