NWA 482 Lunar Meteorite - Rare "White" Moon Specimen

Specimens of the Moon, especially lunar meteorites, are the rarest substances on Earth. The total amount of lunar meteorite material known to exist weighs less than 80 pounds. There are less than 55 lunar meteorites, 18 of which will never be available to the public as they are held, by treaty, in the possession of the countries involved in the program to recover meteorites in Antarctica.

Of all recovered lunar meteorites, North West Africa 482 is the freshest ever found and the most pristine oriented lunar meteorite ever found.  Research has determined that the classification is crystalline impact-melt breccia with lunar highland affinities, making NWA 482 comparable to lunar samples brought back by Apollo 15.   NWA 482 has been compared to the Genesis Rock returned by that mission because of the high concentration of anorthosite contained in the meteorite. ( Genesis Rock Image)  The Genesis rock was named as such because of it's importance in determining the origin of the Moon's outer crust.  Anorthositic rocks are formed deep within the Moon, early in its history.  Apollo 15's Genesis Rock is a piece of nearly pristine anorthosite.

It has glassy and vesicular melt veins and melt pockets indicate shock subsequent to compaction by an impact event....  e.g. an impact on the moon projected this meteorite free of the gravitational pull of the moon  into space.  Millions of years later, it entered Earth's atmosphere where it eventually fell in the Western Sahara desert.   The age is approximately 4.5 billion years old. It is the only lunar meteorite in private hands with an off-white matrix.  The other specimens have a dark Grey to black matrix and are not nearly as visually appealing.  NWA 482 has been examined and classified by UCLA's A. Rubin and P. Warren as well as D. Kring and I. Duabar of The University of Arizona.

NWA 482 also has other unique properties which make it stand head and shoulders above other Lunar samples, including the belief that it originated from the DARK SIDE OF THE MOON !!!  The far side of the moon looks much different than the side we see here from earth.  A NASA photo of a section of the far side shows in detail that it is much more heavily cratered.   Based on terrestrial age and location, lithology, and chemistry, NWA 482 is unique among all other known lunar meteorites.