Lot Essay
The Moon is among the rarest substances on our planet. Less than 1400 kg of lunar meteorites are known to exist, and a significant portion of these rocks is controlled by governmental institutions. While Apollo astronauts returned with less than 400 kg of Moon rocks, not one milligram of this material is available for private ownership.
Lunar meteorites are delivered to Earth after being blasted off the lunar surface following the impact of an asteroid or comet. As a result of the ongoing pulverization of the lunar surface, different degrees of brecciation and melting are seen in lunar samples. Now offered is a novel presentation — no other lunar samples look quite like Tisserlitine 001. Part of the reason for its unusual appearance is that it landed in or near an active hot spring — secondary hydrothermal alteration effects are in evidence that would require extended interaction with hot water.
This lunar breccia is primarily composed of mineral clasts of anorthite, olivine, pigeonite, augite and orthopyroxene set in a fine-grained matrix. The research scientist who analyzed Tisserlitine, Dr. Anthony Irving, is the world’s most renowned classifier of meteorites from the Moon and Mars. The analysis and classification was published in the 109th edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin — the official registry of meteorites.