A meteorite discovered in 2012 in the Sahara Desert could be the first example of ancient Martian crust, according to Space.com.

Munir Humayun, of Florida State University's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, and lead author of the study, said he and his colleagues made the discovery while analyzing a 4.4-billion-year-old meteorite found by Bedouin tribesmen in the Sahara desert last year.

"We finally have a sample of the Martian highlands, that portion of Mars that holds all the secrets to Mars' birth and early development," said Humayun of Florida State University told Space.com.

The Mars meteorite, classified as NWA 7533, contains evidence it came from the Red Planet's crated and "ancient southern highlands" according to researchers.

Humayun and his colleagues were able to determine NWA's age by figuring out that crystals within it, known as zicrons, formed well over 4.4 billion years ago.

"It's the part of Mars' history where the oceans and atmosphere developed, and where life would have developed if it ever did on Mars," Humayun said. "I will liken this to opening a treasure chest - it may take a while before we find the best treasures, but treasures aplenty lurk in this meteorite."

Researchers analyzed the chemistry of pieces of soil inside the meteorite, which allowed them to calculate the thickness of Mars' crust.

The study was published in Nature this week.

"This date is about 100 million years after the first dust condensed in the solar system," Humayun said. "We now know that Mars had a crust within the first 100 million years of the start of planet building, and that Mars' crust formed concurrently with the oldest crusts on Earth and the moon."

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