Meteorites are the remnants of the birth of the solar system.
A very small number of them are of Lunar and Martian origin. Meteorites are, with the exception of the Lunar samples returned by the Apollo astronauts and the Soviet Lunakhod rovers, the only materials of extraterrestrial origin that we have. As such, they have been instrumental in helping scientists understand the origin and evolution of the solar system. At the PSF, the centerpiece of our collection of meteorites is the James M. DuPont Meteorite Collection. This is a world class collection of extraterrestrial materials that the PSF uses to both investigate and understand the conditions of the early solar system and to promote interest in the planetary sciences.