Space Water Found: Chapter Three  On March 22, 1998, a stony meteorite landed in Monahans, Texas, about 40 feet from where seven boys were playing basketball. The boys picked up the 2.7 pound stone while it was still warm and called police. Within 72 hours, it was under the watchful eyes of NASA scientists at the Johnson Space Center. Tests Reveal... Two days and numerous tests later, scientists cracked open the gray rock and found blue and purple halite, a salt crystal similar to table salt. The crystals were up to three millimeters in diameter, the largest halite crystals ever seen by scientists in any extraterrestrial material. Inside the blue crystals was an even bigger surprise—small droplets of water. Scientific analysis confirmed the presence of water inside the crystals. The crystals, turned blue and purple by radiation, are estimated to be as old as the Earth's solar system. Next: Water on Mars
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| "Meteorite Nearly Beans Boys"—These two fragments of a meteorite exploded through the atmosphere and fell near a group of boys playing basketball. When scientists cracked open the meteorite they found ancient water— possibly as old as the sun and planets in our solar system. |
