Only 306 lunar meteorite samples exist worldwide. These are chunks of rock from the moon that were knocked off by a comet or asteroid strike onto the lunar surface. First discovered during an expedition in Antarctica in 1982, few other samples of lunar meteorites have been found worldwide, with one that landed on Earth and was discovered in 2019 now coming to the auction floor, a rarity as the majority of meteorites are not available to the general public.
An almost 2006 g slice of the second-largest lunar meteorite to ever land on Earth, officially named Tisserlitine 001, is part of Christie's Shanghai 20th/21st Century Evening Sale on 7 November. It was found in the Saharan Desert in December of 2019, and this slice of it is going on sale for between RMB 2-3 million (around US$280,057-420,085).
Lot 15 | The Second Largest Slice of the Moon - Tisserlitine 001 - Lunar Meteorite (feldspathic breccia)
Sahara Desert, Kidal, Mali (21.325° N, 0.729° E)
41.8 x 35.8 x 0.8 cm
Weight: 2005.9 g
Provenance:
- Main mass discovered in 2019
- Private American collection since 2020, when subdivided into slices
Estimate: RMB 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 (around US$280,057 - 420,085)
Auction House: Christie’s Shanghai
Sale: 20th/21st Century Evening Sale
Date: 7 November 2024
In 2019, a cluster of strange rocks was discovered on the Malian side of the north Mali-Algeria border in the wadi of Tisserlitine in the Kidal region. In total, 2 larger stones and 44 smaller stones (combined, all 46 weighed 47705 g) were found. From there, the stones were acquired by an Algerian dealer, and after changing hands, the majority of the stones, in weight, were acquired and split by an American Darryl Pitt in 2020.
The rocks were eventually scientifically analyzed by the University of Washington and Dr. Anthony Irving, a professor of Earth and space sciences. The analysis revealed that the rocks were fragments from the Moon having landed on Earth following a collision with an asteroid or comet. The striking of the Moon by these other celestial bodies is common, with over 33,000 asteroids hitting the lunar surface each year, although most of these objects are the size of golf balls and do negligible damage.
However, while the Moon is struck thousands of times a year, very few fragments can be found on Earth. All lunar meteorites have been found either in Antarctica, where they were first discovered in 1982, Oman, or Northern Africa, like this current lot. Other fragments of the lunar surface have been brought back primarily by expeditions to the Moon, such as during the Apollo missions. Although there are more than 60,000 meteorites in the world’s collections, about two-thirds will never be available to the general public.
A picture of the Moltke crater on the Moon and numerous examples of meteorite damage done to the lunar surface, taken from Apollo 10 in 1969
In an academic journal article published by The Meteoritical Society, it was noted that all specimens from this lunar meteorite had a flat slab-like appearance and exhibited a porous and crag-filled surface. The interior of the Tisserlitine 001 has a tan or even pink hue with lighter tones on the interior as well as metallic grains. These metal flecks most likely come from an asteroid that struck the Moon.
Additionally, what sets this lot apart from other lunar meteorites is that it was exposed to a high amount of impact melting as it was entering Earth’s atmosphere. An impact melt is what occurs to a meteorite when it's exposed to the high heat entering the Earth's atmosphere. Across the surface of the asteroid slice are these divots, grooves, and holes, which show where hot gases were vented from the meteor during atmospheric entry.
It is believed that the American collector Darryl Pitt further split a larger piece of the lunar meteorite into smaller parts and had them polished which is what gives this slice it far more clean look. Pitt is a well-known American meteorite collector who started collecting in the 1980s. He is regarded as possibly the first person to consign a meteorite to auction, having done so in 1995. Since then he has curated meteorite auctions for Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and Heritage Auctions.
The area in Mali where Tisserlitine 001 was recovered from
Other smaller samples from Tisserlitine 001 that were sold online
To classify a meteorite as a lunar one, scientists identify specific textural, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics unique to fragments from the Moon. This is especially useful as the Moon contains several minerals that are highly rare or absent on Earth, and vice versa. Additionally, due to the Moon not having an atmosphere, it picks up gases and isotopes not found on Earth at all.
Due to the rarity of lunar meteorites on Earth, they have historically sold quite strongly. In 2018, Boston-based RR Auction sold a 5443.11 g lunar meteorite for a record-setting US$612,500.
In addition to lunar meteorites, there are also Martian meteorites that originate in the same way as lunar ones but break off from the surface of Mars. These are classified into three sub-groups, including stone, which accounts for 95% of all meteorites on Earth, iron meteorites, which account for 4% of all drops, and stony-irons, which account for 1% of meteorites that land on Earth.
NWA 11789 Lunar Meteorite | Sold for US$612,500 by RR Auction, 2018 | The largest ever lunar meteor sold at auction