Lunar Meteorite: Pakepake 005
More photos: Meteorite Picture of the Day
| from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 113 Pakepake 005Xinjiang, China Lunar meteorite (fragmental breccia) History: Discovered by a meteorite hunter from Korla, Xinjiang Province, in the Taklamakan desert on January 22, 2024. The stone was purchased by Ashanjiang from the finder and was subsequently acquired by Ziyao Wang on January 27, 2024. Physical Characteristics: Single spheroidal individual with patches of dark colored weathered fusion crust. Many anorthitic appearing white clasts as well as several dark clasts are visible on the surface. Freshly broken surface reveals a breccia with white feldspar and pale green pyroxene clasts set in a dark gray groundmass. Petrography: (C. Agee and Spilde, UNM) Backscatter electron images and microprobe analyses indicate a lunar fragmental breccia with relatively large zoned pigeonite and anorthite clasts set in a cataclastic matrix of finer mineral fragments. Major phases are anorthite and pigeonite with lesser amounts of olivine and augite. A few examples of fayalite-rich myrmekites were observed. Minor phases include ilmenite, troilite, and silica. Geochemistry: (M. Spilde, UNM) Olivine Fa36.9±3.1, Fe/Mn=101±2, n=2; fayalite Fa95.1±2.2, Fe/Mn=92±6, n=3; pigeonite Fs46.9±8.2Wo17.0±2.9, Fe/Mn=68±6, n=7; augite Fs41.4±14.9Wo37.1±6.1, Fe/Mn=75±23, n=2; plagioclase An92.4±2.2Ab7.1±1.8, n=5. Classification: Lunar fragmental breccia. Specimens: 9 g on deposit at UNM, WangZ holds the main mass. |
| Randy Says… It would be informative to have a complete chemical analysis of the meteorite. Pakepake 005 is reported to have been found in the Taklamakan Desert of western China. Wikipedia: “The Taklamakan Desert has an area of 337,000 km2 (130,000 sq mi), making it slightly smaller than Germany. The desert is part of the Tarim Basin, which is 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long and 400 kilometres (250 mi) wide.” Unlike most of the find locations in northwestern Africa, which are surfaced by desert pavement, it is a “shifting sands” desert with sand dunes. |
More InformationMeteoritical Bulletin Database Pakepake 005 |