Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 032 & 479

paired stones

A slice of Northwest Africa 032. Photo credit: unknown
Slices of NWA 032 and 479. Photo credit: Norbert Classen
Northwest Africa 479 showing fusion crust. Photo credit: Dustin Dickens
Northwest Africa 479 showing green olivine phenocrysts. Photo credit: Bruno Fectay & Carine Bidaut
A slice from NWA 479. Millimeter ticks for scale. Photo credit: Randy Korotev

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 84

Northwest Africa 032

Morocco, near Algerian border
Found: 1999 October
Mass: ~300 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite (olivine-pyroxene basalt) 

Classification and mineralogy (T. Fagan, UHaw; T. Bunch and J. Wittke, NAU): olivine, pyroxene, and chromite phenocrysts occur in a groundmass of elongate, zoned pyroxene (En1-25Wo15-25) and feldspar (~An85) crystals radiating from common nucleation sites; opaque phases include elongate, skeletal ilmenite, troilite, and trace metal; olivine phenocrysts (~12 vol%) up to 300 µm are zoned from Fo65 (cores) to Fo60 (rims), and commonly have chromite inclusions; pyroxene phenocrysts (~5 vol%) are complexly zoned, with En40-50Wo20-40 and En15-25Wo10-20 domains; both olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts surrounded by Fe-rich quenched margins (olivines, ~Fo30; pyroxenes, En5-25Wo15-30); glass with ~45.7 wt% SiO2 occurs in semi-continuous shock veins up to 50 µm wide; some terrestrial weathering products are present in fractures, but primary assemblage is essentially unaltered.

Oxygen isotope compositions (R. Clayton, UChi): δ18O = +5.63 ‰, δ17O = +2.92‰.

Bulk composition (in wt%, E. Jarosewich, SI): SiO2 = 44.7; TiO2 = 3.08; Al2O3 = 8.74; FeO = 23.0; MnO = 0.33; MgO = 8.45; CaO = 10.9; Na2O = 0.37; K2O = 0.11; H2O = 0.06.

Specimens: Type specimen, ~5-6 g, contact T. Bunch, NAU; 1.1 g plus thin section, UHaw; main mass, 260 g, Radomsky.

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 85

Northwest Africa 479

Possibly Khter n’Aït Khebbach, Morocco
Found: 2000 November
Mass: 156 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite (mare basalt) 

A 156 g stone was collected in Morocco in the area of Khter n’Aït Khebbach, however, the exact location is unknown.

Classification and mineralogy (J.-A. Barrat, UAng, A. Jambon, UPVI, Violaine Sautter, MNHNP, Ph. Gillet, ENSL): consists of phenocrysts of olivine, pyroxene and chromite in a groundmass of pyroxene and calcic plagioclase; texture closely resembles that of NWA 032; mineral compositions are identical to those reported for NWA 032 (see Met. Bull. 84).

Specimens: main mass with anonymous finder; type specimen, 8 g and 1 thin section, ENSL; 3.6 g, NHMV.

Randy Says…

NWA 032 is the first lunar meteorite to be recognized from Africa. It is distinct from Apollo and Luna basalts. It is one of the youngest basalts known from the Moon. There is some evidence that it is launch paired with  NWA 4734/10597 and the LAP pairs (Antarctica; Zeigler et al., 2005).

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 032 | 479

References

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