Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 11886

End cut of Northwest Africa 11886. Photo credit: Luc Labenne
Two views of the same broken face of lab sample of NWA 11886. Photo credit: Randy Korotev

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 108

Northwest Africa 11886 (NWA 11886)

(Northwestern Africa)
Purchase: 2018 March
Mass: 36 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite

History: Bought in Erfoud, Morocco, in March 2018.

Physical characteristics: Cut surface reveals a gray interior with light grey and white clasts.

Petrography: (J. Gattacceca, CEREGE) Igneous fragmental breccia. Main minerals are pyroxene and plagioclase with typical grain size of 300 μm. Other minerals include olivine, chromite, troilite, silica polymorph (to 200 μm), ilmenite, rare metal.

Geochemistry: Pyroxene Fs44.4±6.0Wo22.9±9.0, FeO/MnO=67.3±12.4 (N=5). Plagioclase An92.7Ab7.2Or0.1 (N=2). Olivine Fa87.8, FeO/MnO=109 (N=1).

Classification: Lunar, fragmental breccia.

Specimens: 7.5 g at CEREGE. Main mass with Labenne.

Randy Says…

NWA 11886 is a unique basaltic breccia with 21% FeO. It contains little or no material from the feldspathic highlands and is apparently derived from a basalt that is moderately rich in incompatible elements (e.g., 16.5 ppm Sm and 2.7 ppm Th).

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 11886

References

Korotev R. L. and Irving A. J. (2021) Lunar meteorites from northern Africa. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 206–240. 

Lunar Meteorites
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