3.45" Polished Lunar Meteorite (34.45 g) Slice - Adrar 013

The Adrar 013 Lunar Meteorite

Adrar 013 is a lunar meteorite (melt breccia - anorthositic norite-gabbro) found in the Adrar Province of Algeria, North Africa in 2023. A total of 3.15 kgs were found, the bulk of which was a 3 kg single stone. This meteorite displays a lunar breccia composition of grayish-green clasts set in abundant anorthite-rich melt rock matrix displaying pronounced flow and quench textures with small acicular crystals nucleating on larger entrained mineral grains.

Meteoritical Bulletin Database Entry - Adrar 013

Moon Rocks... On Earth...

Think the only moon rocks on Earth are samples brought back from Apollo missions? Think again!

Lunar meteorites are type of achondrite meteorites that were formed like other stony (chondrite) meteorites, but they were ejected into space by meteorites and other celestial bodies hitting the moon. Almost all lunar meteorites are brecciated amalgamations of feldspathic and basaltic rocks commonly found on the Moon's surface.

Lunar meteorites are pretty rare to find on Earth: the vast majority of meteorites are from the asteroid belt, and less than 1 percent of classified meteorites are lunar in origin. The total mass of all known lunar meteorites is probably less than 1,000 kilograms. Owning a piece of the moon is a pretty rare accomplishment!

One reason they are so rare is because lunar meteorites superficially look just like earth rocks. Even a true meteorite expert would not recognize a lunar meteor laying on the ground among earthly stones. Lunar meteorites have only been recognized in places naturally devoid of rocks, like sandy deserts and ice sheets. In fact, there has never been a lunar meteorite classified from North America, South America or Europe. Most are found in the Sahara Desert (Northwest Africa), Antarctica, or Oman. All Antarctic meteorites are governmental property so they cannot be privately attained.