© Case Western Reserve University
The new meteorite specimen in the Antarctic Meteorite Processing Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The meteorite was broken open for initial characterization, revealing a pinkish-tan interior and a granular texture unusual in meteorites. The cube in the images is 1 cm on a side and is used to establish a consistent frame of reference for the geometry of the specimen; labeling the top, bottom, sides, etc.
Although last year's inclement weather resulted in fewer Antarctic meteorite recoveries than usual, scientists have recently discovered that one of the specimens is a rare breed -- a type of lunar meteorite seen only once before.
The new specimen was found by a field party from the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET) headquartered at Case Western Reserve University. The meteorite was discovered on Dec. 11, 2005, on an icefield in the Miller Range of the Transantarctic Mountains, roughly 750 km from the South Pole.
This 142.2 g black rock, slightly larger than a golfball and officially designated MIL 05035, was one of 238 meteorites collected by ANSMET during the 2005-2006 austral summer. Heavy snows limited search efforts during much of the remainder of the six-week field season, making this meteorite, discovered just 600 m from camp, a particularly welcome find.
