"We think the water came from the melting of nearby sub-surface ice called permafrost, and that the permafrost melting was caused by magmatic activity that still occurs periodically on Mars to the present day.

Researchers from Purdue University have confirmed the so-called Lafayette Meteorite encountered Water before it left Mars behind. The unlikely journey that brought the Lafayette Meteorite to Purdue University’s Department of Earth,

The study identified when water interacted with the meteorite and established that the dating was unaffected by events after it left Mars.

A sliver of Martian rock that once lay hidden in a university drawer has helped researchers better understand the Red Planet’s geological history. Using isotopic dating, a team at Purdue University has determined that the “Lafayette Meteorite” likely interacted with liquid water approximately 742 million years ago.