Audio Guide

‘There is water on Mars’.
What do you see in your mind when you hear these words?

Mars is a cold, dry planet.
Most of the water on its surface is frozen solid.
Ice turns to vapor, forming ice clouds which then fall back to the ground as tiny frozen particles.
Yet, in the distant past, Mars was warmer. There is evidence it had rivers and lakes.
So where did all that water go?

This rock holds the key to that mystery.
Discovered in the year 2000 by a Japanese Antarctic research team, it is one of the largest Martian meteorites in the world.
Analysis revealed minerals inside that could not have formed without water.
Then, just last year, an American research team announced a groundbreaking discovery: a vast amount of liquid water may exist beneath Mars’ surface.
The presence of water is a stunning revelation that suggests the possibility of an ecosystem on Mars.

For the first time, this world-class Martian rock is being displayed to the public.
On the wall to your left is a fragment you can touch.
Perhaps one day, humans will even be able to live on Mars.
Stand here and feel the beginnings of that future.