Rocks from the Moon are among the rarest substances on Earth, and now offered is a complete slice of one such rock that was blasted off the lunar surface following an asteroid impact — and it might be noted nearly all of the Moon’s craters are the result of such impacts. Lunar samples are identified by specific textural, mineralogical, chemical and isotopic signatures. Many of the common minerals found on Earth’s surface are rare on the Moon and some lunar minerals are unknown on Earth. In addition, Moon rocks contain gases captured from the solar wind with isotope ratios very different from the same gases found on Earth.

Lunar meteorites are also readily recognizable because they can be compared to the samples returned by the Apollo astronauts and unmanned Soviet and Chinese spacecraft. There are less than 1,000 kilograms of lunar meteorites known to exist — all would fit in the trunk of an SUV — and a significant fraction is controlled by governmental institutions. While Apollo astronauts returned with 382 kg of Moon rocks, none are available for private ownership. NWA 8022, is the 8,022^nd rock recovered in the North West African grid of the Sahara Desert to be analyzed and classified — and it appears very different than most. The single 1,226 gram stone from which this slice is derived is a highly recrystallized breccia composed mainly of very fine-grained minerals and a few much larger grains of anorthite (a calcium-aluminum silicate mineral present in most Moon rocks). Shock veins transect this alluringly unusual specimen of the Moon.

The official classification of this lunar meteorite appears in the 102^nd edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin. The write-up was done by the world’s most renowned classifier of lunar meteorites, Dr. Anthony Irving.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.

110 x 96 x 2mm (4.33 x 3.75 x 0.1 in.) and 39.08 grams