1. Eigenbrode, J. L. et al. Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars. Science 360, 1096–1101 (2018).

2. Ryder, G. Mass flux in the ancient Earth–Moon system and benign implications for the origin of life on Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 5022 (2002).

3. Abramov, O. & Mojzsis, S. J. Thermal effects of impact bombardments on Noachian Mars. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 442, 108–120 (2016).

4. Touboul, M., Kleine, T., Bourdon, B., Palme, H. & Wieler, R. Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metals. Nature 450, 1206–1209 (2007).

5. Barboni, M. et al. Early formation of the Moon 4.51 billion years ago. Sci. Adv. 3, e1602365 (2017).

6. Gomes, R., Levison, H. F., Tsiganis, K. & Morbidelli, A. Origin of the cataclysmic late heavy bombardment period of the terrestrial planets. Nature 435, 466–469 (2005).

7. Hazael, R., Meersman, F., Ono, F. & Mcmillan, P. F. Pressure as a limiting factor for life. Life 6, 34 (2016).

8. Hazael, R., Fitzmaurice, B. C., Foglia, F., Appleby-Thomas, G. J. & McMillan, P. F. Bacterial survival following shock compression in the gigapascal range. Icarus 293, 1–7 (2017).

9. Cassata, W. S. et al. Chronology of Martian breccia NWA 7034 and the formation of the Martian crustal dichotomy. Sci. Adv. 4, eaap8306 (2018).

10. Moser, D. E. et al. New zircon shock phenomena and their use for dating and reconstruction of large impact structures revealed by electron nanobeam (EBSD, CL, EDS) and isotopic U–Pb and (U–Th)/He analysis of the Vredefort dome. Can. J. Earth Sci. 48, 117–139 (2011).

11. Kohn, M. J. & Kelly, N. M. in Microstructural Geochronology: Planetary Records Down to Atom Scale (eds Moser, D. E. et al.) 35–61 (Wiley, 2017).

12. Heaman, L. M. & LeCheminant, A. N. Paragenesis and U–Pb systematics of baddeleyite (ZrO 2 ). Chem. Geol. 110, 95–126 (1993).

13. Valley, J. W. et al. Hadean age for a post-magma-ocean zircon confirmed by atom-probe tomography. Nat. Geosci. 7, 219–223 (2014).

14. Piazolo, S. et al. Deformation-induced trace element redistribution in zircon revealed using atom probe tomography. Nat. Commun. 7, 10490 (2016).

15. Stöffler, D., Hamann, C. & Metzler, K. Shock metamorphism of planetary silicate rocks and sediments: proposal for an updated classification system. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 53, 5–49 (2018).

16. Crow, C. A., Moser, D. E. & McKeegan, K. D. Shock metamorphic history of >4 Ga Apollo 14 and 15 zircons. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 54, 181–201 (2019).

17. El Goresy, A. Baddeleyite and its significance in impact glasses. J. Geophys. Res. 70, 3453–3456 (1965).

18. Erickson, T. M. et al. Microstructural constraints on the mechanisms of the transformation to reidite in naturally shocked zircon. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 172, 6 (2017).

19. White, L. F. et al. Baddeleyite as a widespread and sensitive indicator of meteorite bombardment in planetary crusts. Geology 46, 719–722 (2018).

20. Darling, J. R. et al. Variable microstructural response of baddeleyite to shock metamorphism in young basaltic shergottite NWA 5298 and improved U–Pb dating of Solar System events. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 444, 1–12 (2016).

21. White, L. F. et al. Atomic-scale age resolution of planetary events. Nat. Commun. 8, 15597 (2017).

22. Thomson, O. A. et al. Preservation of detrital shocked minerals derived from the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure in modern alluvium and Holocene glacial deposits. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 126, 720–737 (2014).

23. Agee, C. B. et al. Unique meteorite from early Amazonian Mars: water-rich basaltic breccia Northwest Africa 7034. Science 339, 780–785 (2013).

24. Humayun, M. et al. Origin and age of the earliest Martian crust from meteorite NWA 7533. Nature 503, 513–516 (2013).

25. Wittmann, A. et al. Petrography and composition of Martian regolith breccia meteorite Northwest Africa 7475. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 50, 326–352 (2015).

26. Hewins, R. H. et al. Regolith breccia Northwest Africa 7533: mineralogy and petrology with implications for early Mars. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 52, 89–124 (2017).

27. Bellucci, J. J. et al. A scanning ion imaging investigation into the micron-scale U–Pb systematics in a complex lunar zircon. Chem. Geol. 438, 112–122 (2016).

28. Bouvier, L. C. et al. Evidence for extremely rapid magma ocean crystallization and crust formation on Mars. Nature 558, 586–589 (2018).

29. McCubbin, F. M. et al. Geologic history of Martian regolith breccia Northwest Africa 7034: evidence for hydrothermal activity and lithologic diversity in the Martian crust. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 121, 2120–2149 (2016).

30. Cartwright, J. A., Ott, U., Herrmann, S. & Agee, C. B. Modern atmospheric signatures in 4.4 Ga Martian meteorite NWA 7034. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 400, 77–87 (2014).

31. Lorand, J. P. et al. Nickeliferous pyrite tracks pervasive hydrothermal alteration in Martian regolith breccia: a study in NWA 7533. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 50, 2099–2120 (2015).

32. Roszjar, J., Moser, D. E., Hyde, B. C., Chanmuang, C. & Tait, K. in Microstructural Geochronology: Planetary Records Down to Atom Scale (eds Moser, D. E. et al.) 113–135 (Wiley, 2017).

33. Moser, D. E. et al. Solving the Martian meteorite age conundrum using micro-baddeleyite and launch-generated zircon. Nature 499, 454–457 (2013).

34. Wingate, M. T. D. & Compston, W. Crystal orientation effects during ion microprobe U–Pb analysis of baddeleyite. Chem. Geol. 168, 75–97 (2000).

35. Reinhard, D. A. et al. in Microstructural Geochronology: Planetary Records Down to Atom Scale (eds Moser, D. E. et al.) 315–326 (Wiley, 2017).

36. Therriault, A. M., Grieve, R. A. F. & Reimold, W. U. Original size of the Vredefort structure: implications for the geological evolution of the Witwatersrand Basin. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 71–77 (1997).

37. Crow, C. A., McKeegan, K. D. & Moser, D. E. Coordinated U–Pb geochronology, trace element, Ti-in-zircon thermometry and microstructural analysis of Apollo zircons. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 202, 264–284 (2017).

38. Herd, C. D. K. et al. in Microstructural Geochronology: Planetary Records Down to Atom Scale (eds Moser, D. E. et al.) 137–166 (Wiley, 2017).

39. Sleep, N. H. & Zahnle, K. Refugia from asteroid impacts on early Mars and the early Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 28529–28544 (1998).

40. Wilhelms, D. E. & Squyres, S. W. The Martian hemispheric dichotomy may be due to a giant impact. Nature 309, 138–140 (1984).

41. Nyquist, L. E. et al. Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd isotopic and REE studies of igneous components in the bulk matrix domain of Martian breccia Northwest Africa 7034. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 51, 483–498 (2016).

42. Watters, T. R., McGovern, P. J. & Irwin, R. P. III Hemispheres apart: the crustal dichotomy on Mars. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 35, 621–652 (2007).

43. Steele, A. et al. A reduced organic carbon component in Martian basalts. Science 337, 212–215 (2012).

44. Carr, M. H. & Head, J. W. Martian surface/near-surface water inventory: sources, sinks, and changes with time. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 726–732 (2015).

45. McCubbin, F. M. et al. Heterogeneous distribution of H 2 O in the Martian interior: implications for the abundance of H 2 O in depleted and enriched mantle sources. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 51, 2036–2060 (2016).

46. Horneck, G. et al. Microbial rock inhabitants survive hypervelocity impacts on Mars-like host planets: first phase of lithopanspermia experimentally tested. Astrobiology 8, 17–44 (2008).

47. Bottke, W. F. & Andrews-Hanna, J. C. A post-accretionary lull in large impacts on early Mars. Nat. Geosci. 10, 344–348 (2017).

48. Marchi, S. et al. Widespread mixing and burial of Earth’s Hadean crust by asteroid impacts. Nature 511, 578–582 (2014).

49. Brasser, R., Mojzsis, S. J., Werner, S. C., Matsumura, S. & Ida, S. Late veneer and late accretion to the terrestrial planets. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 455, 85–93 (2016).

50. Dauphas, N. & Pourmand, A. Hf–W–Th evidence for rapid growth of Mars and its status as a planetary embryo. Nature 473, 489–492 (2011).

51. Nesvorný, D., Vokrouhlický, D., Bottke, W. F. & Levison, H. F. Evidence for very early migration of the Solar System planets from the Patroclus–Menoetius binary Jupiter Trojan. Nat. Astron. 2, 878–882 (2018).

52. Hurowitz, J. A. & McLennan, S. M. A ∼3.5 Ga record of water-limited, acidic weathering conditions on Mars. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 260, 432–443 (2007).

53. Ehlmann, B. L. et al. The sustainability of habitability on terrestrial planets: insights, questions, and needed measurements from Mars for understanding the evolution of Earth-like worlds. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 121, 1927–1961 (2016).

54. Rosing, M. T. 13C-depleted carbon microparticles in >3700-Ma sea-floor sedimentary rocks from West Greenland. Science 283, 674–676 (1999).

55. Davis, C. L. Microstructural Geochronology of Zircon across the Central Uplift of the Vredefort Impact Structure, South Africa MSc thesis, University of Western Ontario (2017).

56. Larson, D. J. et al. Field-ion specimen preparation using focused ion-beam milling. Ultramicroscopy 79, 287–293 (1999).

57. Thompson, K. et al. In situ site-specific specimen preparation for atom probe tomography. Ultramicroscopy 107, 131–139 (2007).

58. Larson, D. J., Prosa, T. J., Ulfig, R. M., Geiser, B. P. & Kelly, T. F. Local Electrode Atom Probe Tomography (Springer, 2013).