Scientists are abuzz about a coal-colored rock from Mars that landed in the Sahara desert. A yearlong analysis revealed it's quite different from other Martian meteorites.

一块从火星坠落到撒哈拉沙漠的“黑美人”陨石引起科学家们的热议。长达一年的分析显示，和其它火星石相比，这块陨石与众不同。

Not only is it older than most, the baseball-size meteorite also contains more water. Researchers performed a battery of tests on the meteorite, and based on its chemical signature, confirmed that it was blasted to Earth from Mars.

它有棒球大小，不仅比大部分发现的陨石古老，还曾经富含水分。研究人员对“黑美人”进行了一系列的测试，基于它的化学成份证实它是从火星抵达地球表面的。

At 2.1 billion years old, it's the second-oldest known Martian meteorite that formed from a volcanic eruption. There's also evidence that it was altered by water.

大约21亿年前，这块迄今地球发现的第二块最古老的火星陨石形成于一次火山喷发过程中。据证实，该陨石样本形成过程中受到水的影响。