NWA 3163 Lunar Feldspathic Granulite Meteorite Specimen

The World’s Largest Granulitic Lunar Meteorite!!

54mg end cut of NWA 3163, an ultra-rare Lunar Feldspathic Granulite meteorite, the largest Granulitic meteorite and third largest lunar meteorite in the world. A single 1,634 gram meteorite, believed to have been found in Mauritania or Algeria, was purchased in Morocco in August 2005. The 1,122-gram main mass was acquired by a World-Class Museum so precious little material is available to other museums and collectors. It represents the largest known sample of this rare rock type available for scientific study.  It is composed primarily of maskelynite (shocked plagioclase) with lesser amounts of pyroxene, olivine, chromite and other minerals.  This extremely rare type of lunar rock is known from small clasts in a few Apollo 15, 16 and 17 samples. This specimen comes with a color ID card from The Hupe Collection.

Click here for image of Main Mass

http://www.lunarrock.com/nwa3163/nwa3163a.jpg

Click here for image of 74.1 gram Complete Slice

http://www.lunarrock.com/nwa3163/nwa3163slice2c.jpg

NWA 3163 is almost completely coated by a thin, transparent greenish fusion crust, and the fresh, pale gray interior has multiple shock fractures and some thin glass veinlets.  It is a metamorphic rock representing a recrystallized, extremely fine-grained breccia derived originally from essentially monomict (or genomict) olivine gabbro or diabase lithologies.

The mineral compositions are characteristic of ferroan anorthosite (FAN) igneous rocks from the very ancient lunar highlands, and this specimen is classified as a hornfelsic granulitic impactite, interpreted to have been produced by burial metamorphism deep in the lunar crust of impact-comminuted olivine gabbroic to diabasic rocks.  Excavation from such a deep site is consistent with the abundance of maskelynite.

NWA 3163 has already stirred up excitement among the scientific community. Here are a couple of quotes from some of the scientists:

"This… has the fascinating combination of being at the mafic end of the range of feldspathic lunar meteorites but with low concentrations of incompatible elements.”

“NWA 3163 appears unique” (among lunar meteorites).

Thin section image in cross-polarized light showing plagioclase/maskelynite (black) and very fine-grained mafic minerals (beige).

http://www.lunarrock.com/nwa3163/nwa3163c.jpg

False-color, back-scattered electron image 1

http://www.lunarrock.com/nwa3163/nwa3163d.jpg

False-color, back-scattered electron image 2

http://www.lunarrock.com/nwa3163/nwa3163e.jpg

Click here for information from Washington University in St. Louis

http://epsc.wustl.edu/admin/resources/meteorites/moon_meteorites_list.html

The type specimen is already being analyzed at the University of Washington, Washington University St. Louis, University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory and University of Arizona.  These and other analyses will establish the bulk chemical composition, space age and terrestrial age of NWA 3163.  This unique meteorite will be very relevant for the newly planned NASA missions to the Moon that will be attempting to retrieve samples of the deep lunar crust.

Authenticity Guaranteed: As a member of the International Meteorite Collectors Association (I.M.C.A.), a nonprofit corporation that adheres to the strictest standards of authenticity. I have been a member of the I.M.C.A. since its inception and I adhere to the most stringent Code of Ethics in the industry. My IMCA member number is 3163.

SHIPPING: Please see shipping amount quoted above in auction details section. We typically ship to U.S. locations by Priority Mail and to overseas locations in a sturdy cardboard box by International First Class or Priority Mail, which ever is the quickest or less expensive.  This amount will be added to the final auction price. We combine shipping on multiple orders. After all of your auctions have ended, email us a complete list of auction numbers and descriptions, along with your shipping address, and we will quote the combined shipping and/or insurance amount.

Notice to Italian Bidders: I no longer ship to Italy due to Italian customs restrictions and problems. Please DO NOT bid on this auction. If you do, your bid will be canceled. I apologize for this new policy, which is out of my control.

Thank you for looking and if you are bidding, good luck!

Copyright © 2009 The Hupé Collection