Northwest Africa 15063 (NWA 15063)

(Northwest Africa)

Purchased: 2018 Jul

Classification: Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: Purchased by Bing’an Miao from a meteorite dealer Rex in Beijing in July, 2018.

Physical characteristics: A single stone with obvious dark fusion crust.

Petrography: This meteorite shows a granulitic breccia texture. The clasts are composed largely of plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene mineral fragments. The matrix shows a poikiloblastic texture dominated by plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene. A fracture is clearly visible in the middle of the polished thin section, and divides the whole into two parts of similar area. The plagioclase around the fracture has been transformed to maskelynite. Minor phases include chromite,spinel, troilite and ilmenite.

Geochemistry: Plagioclase: An_94.7-98.5Or_0.03-0.4(n=17); Olivine: Fo_79.1-89.8, Fe/Mn=71-117 (n=17); Pyroxene: Fs_11.6-17.2Wo_2.3-19.1En_72-80.5, Fe/Mn=47-63(n=10)

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic breccia). Although there is no information on the exact location where NWA 15062 and 15063 were found, they have similarities in lithic texture and major mineral composition, and they were purchased from the same meteorite dealer, so they may be paired meteorites.

Specimens: One polished thin section and the type sample of 3.5 g are deposited in GUT. The main mass of the meteorite is kept by the owner of Bing’an Miao.