Shergottites are a rare type of meteorite, believed to come from Mars. Their name refers to the Shergotty meteorite, which fell in 1865 near Sherghati (en), in the state of Bihar (India). Shergottites make up about three-quarters of Martian meteorites1. Petrology and mineralogy Shergottites are magmatic rocks of ultramafic composition, which frequently show traces of shock metamorphism. There are two subtypes based on their mineralogy: basaltic shergottites and lherzolitic shergottites. Alternatively, they can be classified into three or four groups based on their rare earth content2. Age and origin The crystallization age of shergottites is particularly small for meteorites: between 161 ± 9 and 540 ± 63 Ma (2σ)3. They were ejected from Mars less than 5 Ma ago, plausibly by the impact that created the Mojave crater4