dscd6532.jpg

The lunar meteorite display.

Picture 1 of 3.

The accompanying sign reads

Touch the Moon!

This is a slice of a lunar meteorite, a piece of the Moon that was chipped free when a meteor struck the Moon. Because lunar meteorites differ from most other meteorites found on Earth, lunar meteorites are identified by comparing the minerals, chemicals, and isotopes in the meteorite to samples from the Moon rocks collected during the Apollo missions. Most of the lunar crust consists of only four minerals - plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, olivine, and ilmenite.

This lunar meteorite slice is from meteorite NWA 8687, which was recovered from the Northwest Africa region in 2014.