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Complete moon rock (lunar fragmental breccia)
116 mm x 85 mm x 51 mm
621 grams
While it is not possible to obtain lunar samples brought back from the Apollo program, we have rare opportunities to own them thanks to meteorites hitting the moon and ejecting moon rocks toward Earth.
Oued El Hamim 001 (OEH 001) was found in Ajdabiya, Libya. It has been officially classified in the Meteoritical Bulletin as a lunar frag breccia, one of only 48 such classifications on Earth. From the various analyses performed by Dr. Agee at the University of New Mexico: 'Electron microprobe analysis and imagery indicate a lunar fragmental breccia with clasts of minerals and rocklets.'
Further setting this meteorite apart is the presence of aqueous alteration—almost unheard of in lunar specimens. Dr. Agee’s analysis revealed olivine crystals transformed into an iddingsite-like phase, evidence of interaction with water below the lunar surface. Distinct boundaries between altered and unaltered zones reveal a unique geological record, offering insights into rare processes on the Moon.
While we have precious few of these water-altered moon rocks on Earth, the Russian robotic lunar landers Luna 20 and 24 found evidence of them. From the 2018 paper from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow titled Signs of Hydrothermal Activity in Lunar Rocks according to the Data of a Regolith Investigation: “4.2–3.1 Ga ago, the water content in lunar magmas was comparable to that in the current Earth basalts. Thus, Lunar magmatism should be accompanied in a natural way by hydrothermal processes corresponding to its water contents."
