Northwest Africa 11303

Lunar, feldspathic breccia
Found in Northwest Africa, 2017

NWA 11303 is one the more visually appealing lunar meteorites available to collectors, and the favorite of company staff. It was found in 2017 and classified by meteorite scientists A. Irving and S. Kuehner at the Department of Earth at Space Sciences at UWS. Laboratory-polished slices reveal a kaleidoscope of clasts of varying sizes and colors, clearly demonstrating the multifaceted composition of this lunar breccia. It is expected to see little or no iron and lunar meteorites, but this amazing moon rock contains visible metallic inclusions. This extraterrestrial nickel-iron was likely brought to the Moon on board large asteroid fragments, suggesting NWA 11303 is a composite of indigenous lunar material combined with meteorite fragments that could have originated hundreds of millions of miles away. The laboratory noted the extreme hardness of this rock, which lent itself to an exceptional polish.