The Life Scientific Caroline Smith on meteorites and potential ancient life on Mars
Nov 25, 2025
Caroline Smith, Head of Collections at the Natural History Museum, specializes in meteorites and their profound implications for life beyond Earth. She reveals fascinating insights into the Narcla Martian meteorite and its evidence of past water, highlighting meteorites as keys to understanding early Solar System chemistry. Caroline discusses the security of transporting valuable samples and the preparation for Mars sample return missions. Her personal journey from childhood rock collecting to space science is both inspiring and informative, underscoring the societal value of her work.
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Holding A Martian Meteorite
- Caroline Smith showed a three-gram fragment of the Martian meteorite Nakhla and described its appearance and textures.
- She explained the black fusion crust, olive-green interior and sparkles from minerals formed with water.
Meteorites Reveal Solar System Origins
- Meteorites are the leftover builder's rubble from the solar system and reveal foundational materials.
- Caroline Smith highlights heat, organics, time and especially water as essential prerequisites for life.
Rock-Hunting In The Rockies
- Caroline grew up traveling with airline-worker parents and spent summers in the Rocky Mountains hunting rocks with a hammer.
- Those childhood treasure hunts seeded her lifelong fascination with geology and meteorites.