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Lunar Meteorite: Northeast Africa 003

Libya

NEA 003
Photo courtesy of Jakub Haloda.
  
A small fragment of NEA 003
Photo by Randy Korotev


Mostly, it's an unbrecciated basalt. Alternatively, it's a breccia with a big clast of basalt.

The basalt is distinct from the Apollo and Luna basalts.
  

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 90, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41, 1383-1418 (2006)

Northeast Africa 003

Libya
Find: November 2000/December 2001

Achondrite (lunar, mare basalt and basaltic breccia)

History: A dark gray, 6 g stone was found by a prospector 12 km NW from Al Qaryah ash Sharqiyah in Wadi Zamzam area, Libya, in December 2001. A stone of 118 g with incomplete fusion crust was found nearby in December 2001.

Petrography: (J. Haloda and P. Tycova, PCU) The meteorite contains two adjacent parts, mare basalt and basaltic breccia, both of which were investigated in detail. The main portion (~75 vol%) of the meteorite is coarse-grained, low-Ti olivine-rich basalt, showing porphyritic texture of olivine
(Fo19-73), zoned pyroxene (En5-71Wo6-38), and plagioclase (An84-92) with late-stage mesostasis containing silica, Fe-rich pyroxene and pyroxferroite, plagioclase, ilmenite, troilite, and apatite. Opaque phases include chromite, Ti-rich chromite, ulvöspinel, ilmenite, troilite, and trace Fe,Ni metal; shock veins and impact melt pockets are present. All plagioclase is totally converted to maskelynite. Mineral modes are (vol%) olivine = 17.5, pyroxene = 60.6, plagioclase = 18.2, ilmenite = 1.2, spinel = 0.8, mesostasis + impact melt = 1.8.

Geochemistry: Bulk composition: SiO2 = 44.7, TiO2 = 1.3, Cr2O3 = 0.5, Al2O3 = 8.0, FeO = 21.8, MnO = 0.3, MgO = 13.6, CaO = 9.2, Na2O = 0.3, K2O = 0.1 (all wt%), Fe/Mn = 81. Concentration of selected elements (INAA; R. Korotev, WashU) Sc = 50.8, Co = 50.5, Ni = 84, Hf = 1.1, Ta = 0.15,
Th = 0.43, U = 0.2 (all ppm); REE pattern is flat at 10 × CI with slight negative Eu anomaly, not depleted in LREE. Adjacent part is basaltic breccia (~25 vol%) consisting of well-consolidated glassy impact-melt matrix containing scattered mineral fragments of chemical composition identical with the coarse-grained low-Ti olivine-rich basalt and two larger clasts of low-Ti mare basalt lithologies. The low-Ti basaltic clasts are finer-grained and petrologically more evolved. No regolith component or highland material is present.

Classification: Achondrite (lunar mare basalt and basaltic breccia).

Specimens: A 20 g type specimen and two polished thin sections are on deposit at PCU. An anonymous finder holds the main mass.
  

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NEA 003

References

Fernandes V.A., Burgess R., Bischoff A., Sokol A. K., and Haloda J. (2007) Kalahari 009 and North East Africa 003: Young (<2.5 ga) lunar mare basalts (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 1611, 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston.

Haloda J., Korotev R. L., Tycova1 P., Jakes P., and Gabzdyl P. (2006) Lunar meteorite Northeast Africa 003-A: A new lunar mare basalt (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVII, number 2269, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Haloda J., Tycova P., Jakes P., Gabzdyl P., and Kosler J. (2006) Lunar meteorite Northeast Africa 003-B: A new lunar mare basaltic breccia (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVII, abstract # 2311, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Haloda J., Gabzdyl P., Tycova P., and Fernandes V. A. (2007) Lunar meteorite Northeast Africa 003-A: Microstructures, crystallization modeling and possible lunar source areas (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 2025, 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston.

Haloda J., Fernandes V.A., Burgess R., and Thöni M. (2007) Lunare mare basalt meteorite NEA003-A: Chronology, chemical and petrological composition. Eos Trans. AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V23B-1440.

Haloda J., Tycova P., Thöni M., and Jelenc M. (2009) The petrogenesis and chronology of lunar meteorite Northeast Africa 003-A: Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic studies (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XL, abstract no. 1247, 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston.

Haloda J., Týcová P., Korotev R. L., Fernandes V. A., Burgess R., Thöni M., Jelenc M., Jakeš P., Gabzdyl P., and Košler J. (2009) Petrology, geochemistry, and age of low-Ti mare-basalt meteorite Northeast Africa 003-A: A possible member of the Apollo 15 mare basaltic suite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, 3450–3470.

Korotev R. L. and Zeigler R. A. (2007) Keeping up with the lunar meteorites (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 1340, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Chemical Classification

Overview | NEA 003 | Basaltic Lunar Meteorites

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Prepared by:

Randy L. Korotev

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis

Please don't contact me about the meteorite you think you’ve found until you read this and this.

e-mail: korotev@wustl.edu

Last revised: 11-Aug-2009