I have been involved in science for most of my life and have followed with great interest the discovery of meteorites from Mars which apparently contain the remnants of life.

In the mid 1970’s, I found a meteorite on a ranch that I worked on after graduating from college. The daily routine of the ranch was to make exactly the same rounds every day. The meteorite landed in a grassy field that contained no rocks whatsoever. My aunt and I saw the meteorite from almost a mile away and it was obvious that it had not been there before. Many people in a near by town reported seeing a meteor the night before.

This meteorite is about the size of a basketball, is obviously volcanic in origin and is a very delicate piece of material. The meteorite is rounded from its entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and clearly shows melted areas where material was removed during its flight through the atmosphere. I have downloaded a picture of the meteorite QUE94201 and ALHA77005 and my meteorite is very similar in appearance but not as dark as QUE. I believe my meteorite represents material that was ejected shortly after it was made. You can actually break off small pieces with your fingernail alone.

When I first discovered this meteorite, I originally thought it was from Mars, because it was obviously volcanic and I reasoned that Mars would be the most likely candidate. I originally thought the material might have been ejected directly from a volcano on Mars, but later read of the theory that meteoroid collisions on Mars may be responsible for giving Martian material escape velocity.

I am very much interested in having my meteorite tested to determine if it actually came from Mars. Can you tell me where to send a sample? If you can be of any help to me, I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.