Some 5 million years ago, an asteroid or comet crashed into Mars so hard that rocks and other debris were launched into space, some of which landed on Earth.
Though it took millions of years to do so, some landed on Earth, becoming the biggest of three main types of meteorites from Mars, according to Reuters.
Now experts are confident they have identified the source of those meteorites, known as the "shergottites." The discovery, once confirmed, would provide scientists new insights into the history and evolution of the Red Planet.
"If one were able to say, 'Oh, this Martian meteorite is from exactly this spot on Mars,' then that would have significant added value to what you could get out of it," said Carl Agee, meteorite curator and director of University of New Mexico's Institute of Meteoritics, according to Reuters.
"We'd know exactly what material it is made of, we'd know how old it was when it formed. You'd get more of the missing pieces of the puzzle of how Mars formed," Agee added.
University of Oslo planetary scientist Stephanie Werner and colleagues believe they have accomplished just that, though nothing is set in stone just yet.
Werner said the shergottites come from a 34-mile wide impact basin, more commonly known as the Mojave Crater, according to the study.
Shergottites account for approximately 75 percent of the 150 Mars meteorites found so far.
Werner said the shergottites crystallized approximately 4.3 billion years ago.
Research was published in a recent issue of the journal Science.
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