Iron Mossbauer spectral study of weathered Antarctic and SNC meteorites

Mossbauer spectral measurements were made on suites of finds from Antarctica and falls collected elsewhere in order to distinguish preterrestrial oxidation products formed on parent meteorite bodies from secondary minerals derived from chemical weathering on earth. Ferric iron is shown to be present throughout the interiors of all the specimens, in amounts ranging from less than 1 to greater than 30 percent Fe(3+). The results indicate that achondrites found to date did not originate from the outermost surface of Mars.