Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 15018

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 111

Northwest Africa 15018 (NWA 15018)

(Northwestern Africa)
Purchased: 2022 April
Mass: 1200 g (many pieces)

Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: The meteorite was purchased from a meteorite dealer in Temara, Morocco.

Physical Characteristics: Many small grayish fragments without fusion crust.

Petrography: (A. Greshake, MNB) The meteorite displays a dark grayish interior and is a polymict breccia predominantly composed of up to 3 mm sized feldspathic and melt clasts plus mineral fragments consolidated by abundant finely recrystallized feldspathic matrix. Dominant minerals are olivine, augite, pigeonite, and calcic plagioclase. Minor phases are silica, ilmenite and FeS.

Geochemistry: olivine: Fa_27.7±1.7 (Fa_26.3-30.6, FeO/MnO=87±4, n=12); augite: Fs_17.4±1.2Wo_34.9±1.4 (Fs_15.3-19.1Wo_33.2-37.5, FeO/MnO=47±4, n=9); pigeonite: Fs_25.3±1.6Wo_9.3±2.2 (Fs_23.0-28.4Wo_5.9-13.3, FeO/MnO=53±5, n=11); calcic plagioclase: An_97.9±0.1 (An_97.6-98.1, n=10) .

Classification:  lunar (feldspathic breccia)

Specimens: 21.6 g at MNB. Main mass with Said Yousfi.

Randy Says…

I have not studied Northwest Africa 15018. It is clearly highly weathered. In the 4x mosaic above, one of the stones is highly fractured. It is unusual too see parallel fractures like this in a lunar breccia and I expect that such fractures would only occur in a melt breccia.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 15018