Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Shawn Wright discovered 'shocked soil,' a new material type of impactite, while doing field work in the Lonar crater in India.

How this affects you

The discovery of 'shocked soil' on Earth, which is rare due to geological processes, suggests such impactites may be more prevalent on Mars and could provide valuable information to astrobiologists about past microbial life, organics, water, and atmospheric conditions on other planets.