1.80" Polished Lunar Meteorite (2.97 g) Slice - Ajdabiya 001

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The Ajdabiya 001 Lunar Meteorite

Ajdabiya 001 is a lunar meteorite (melt breccia) found near the town of Ajdabiya, Libya in 2021. Multiple specimens were found, with a total of 28.8 kg collected. These meteorites were purchased in April 2021 by Adam Aaronson and Ahmed Salek. They're distinctive in having relatively closely packed and unusually large, angular, light-gray lithic clasts within a sparse dark, fine-grained matrix. Clast lithologies include spinel troctolite and quench-textured basaltic rocks. Minerals include anorthite, olivine, low-calcium pyroxene, exsolved pigeonite, augite, ilmenite, chromite (with variable thallium content), iron-chromium-bearing spinel, kamacite, and troilite.

Meteoritical Bulletin: Entry for Lunar Meteorite Ajdabiya 001

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.