Meridianiite

Meridianiite, MgSO₄•11H₂O, is a recently discovered mineral named after the cratered plain of Meridiani Planum on Mars. The mineral is only stable at cold temperatures and until 2008, was only known as a synthetic material. However, data collected on Mars suggested that it may be a natural mineral, and Ronald Peterson, professor of geology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, sought to find it in frozen ponds in British Columbia, once mined for magnesium sulfate.