Researchers have pinpointed the likely origin of a group of meteorites ejected from Mars, using a machine learning algorithm that analyses high-resolution planetary images.

The new research, published in Nature Communications, identified meteorites that landed on Earth likely originated from Mars’ Tooting crater, located in the Tharsis region, which is the largest volcanic province in the solar system.

About 166 Martian rocks have landed on Earth over the past 20 million years, however their precise origins on Mars were unknown.

Lead researcher Dr Anthony Lagain, from Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the new findings would help provide the context to unravel the geological history of the Red Planet.

«In this study, we compiled a new database of 90 million impact craters using a machine learning algorithm that allowed us to determine the potential launch positions of Martian meteorites,» Dr Lagain said.

«By observing the secondary crater fields — or the small craters formed by the ejecta that was thrown out of the larger crater formed recently on the planet, we found that the Tooting crater is the most likely source of these meteorites ejected from Mars 1.1 million years ago.

Story Source: Materials provided by Curtin University. Original written by Yasmine Phillips. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.