By James Pero For Dailymail.com
Published: 21:13 GMT, 15 March 2019 | Updated: 21:13 GMT, 15 March 2019
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Army researchers are using X-Rays to get a look inside some of the world's most precious artifacts from space, including one of the Earth's oldest Martian meteorites dubbed, 'Black Beauty.'
According to the Army Research Laboratory, Black Beauty – a 2 billion-year-old meteorite that scientists say was blasted to Earth from Mars by a large impact event – is among the space specimens to be examined in a joint program with NASA.
Using CT scans, researchers say they're able to glean new insights into the inner workings of the objects, rendering 3-D, high resolution images which NASA calls a potential 'goldmine' for further research.
'Black Beauty', pictured above, is a 2 billion-year-old meteorite that scientists say was blasted to Earth from Mars by a large impact event
'NASA can ultimately use some of this information to further their understanding for their next mission to Mars,' said Dr. Jennifer Sietins, an Army materials engineer.
'What's unique about Black Beauty is that it's one of the oldest Martian meteorites that has been discovered on Earth and it's been proven to have some evidence of water.
'That's what makes it so special.'
The collaboration between NASA and the Army's research laboratory was born out of project that analyzed moon samples from NASA's Apollo 16 mission and employs technology that is already being used to analyze the micro-structure of different materials.
NASA says the project has already yielded crucial information and upended
