Signatures in Martian Volatiles and the Magma Sources of NC Meteorites

We report nitrogen and xenon isotopic signatures in Yamato nakhlites and use the data to assess properties of the magma source of NC meteorites in planet Mars. The Chassigny meteorite was investigated by Floran et al, who classified it as a cumulate dunite with hydrous amphibole-bearing melt inclusions with no preferred orientation of the olivines. Their inferred composition of the parent magma, which was based on electron microprobe analyses, has been questioned. The trace and minor elements in minerals were analyzed in nakhlites and in Chassigny and the authors conclude that nakhlites may represent samples from different horizons of the same lithologic unit, but that Chassigny was not co-magmatic with the nakhlites.