Which rover discovered the first meteorite on Mars?

Opportunity discovered the first meteorite identified on Mars. In January 2005, NASA’s Opportunity rover examined a basketball-sized, iron-nickel object near the debris of its own heat shield in Meridiani Planum. Scientists named it “Heat Shield Rock” and confirmed its unusual composition with the rover’s spectrometers.

The discovery was scientifically important because the object did not form as ordinary Martian bedrock. It was likely an ancient metallic meteorite that had fallen to Mars after being ejected from another differentiated body, such as a large asteroid or planetesimal. The find also showed that meteorites can remain exposed on the Martian surface for long periods.

A common mix-up is confusing Heat Shield Rock with Block Island. Both were iron-nickel meteorites studied by Opportunity, but Heat Shield Rock was the first meteorite identified on another planet. Opportunity later found several more meteorites during its long exploration of Meridiani Planum.