Unique and Rare NEA 089 Lunar Troctolitic Melt - 22.0g Full Slice - Lunar Meteorite From Deep Within The Moon’s Crust

You are viewing NEA 089, a troctolite melt lunar meteorite. This specimen is a rare type of lunar rock that formed from a coarse-grained igneous rock made mainly of olivine and plagioclase feldspar.

Troctolite itself originates deep within the Moon’s crust, where slow cooling allowed large crystals to form. When later impact events or volcanic processes caused this rock to melt and then rapidly cool, the result is a melt breccia or melt rock — preserving both melted and re-crystallized material from the lunar crust, making this storytelling piece not only beautiful to look at, but also an important one for history   

***How do we know it’s from the Moon? ***

Our moon lacks an atmosphere. When asteroids encounter these celestial bodies (which happens frequently), fragments eject from the impact and occasionally make their way into Earth’s orbit. If the stone survives its cataclysmic entry into Earth, it lands on the ground and becomes known as a meteorite. Once studied under a microscope by leading scientists in the field of Meteoritics, the stone's origin is then plotted based on its compositional property to the different classes of asteroids and samples returned to Earth. Lunar meteorites specifically are compared to samples returned by NASA's Apollo mission astronauts. From there, meteorites make their way into museums, universities and to the general public all around the world. 

The Interstellar Collection, LLC is acknowledged by the IMCA (#3950), the Global Meteorite Association (GMA #042) and the Meteorite Club. We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of all of our meteorites.