Gadamis 004 Meteorite

AN EXCEPTIONAL LUNAR METEORITE IN THE SHAPE OF A SPHERE

Lunar material is some of the rarest material to exist on our planet — only 1159 kilograms (2,555 lb) of confirmed lunar meteorites exist on Earth at the time of writing. And, while six of the Apollo missions brought back 382 kilograms (842 lb) of so-called "Moon rocks" from their combined voyages, these samples of the Moon are unavailable for private ownership. As a result, any piece of lunar material is exceedingly rare and highly sought after by both institutional and private collectors.

An approximately 12.7 kilogram mass of the current lunar meteorite, Gadamis 004, was found in the Libyan desert outside of the oasis town of Ghadamis in 2022. After being analyzed by Dr. Carl Agee, the Director of the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico, he confirmed that not only is this a lunar meteorite, but that its high anorthite content (98-99%) and cataclastic texture make it extremely similar to the Ferroan Anorthosite (FAN) clasts found within a number of the Moon rocks collected by the Apollo 16 astronauts.

Formed into a sphere reminiscent of the Moon from which it came, this Gadamis 004 meteorite shows off an incredible number of light colored anorthitic clasts, which are encircled and contrasted by darker cataclastic veining throughout.