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The Meteoritical Bulletin heralds discovery of the newest lunar meteorite
By Andrew Bridges
Pasadena Bureau Chief
posted: 04:47 pm ET
18 August 2000
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lunar_meteoriteFirst, it was a man on the moon.Now, its the moon on Oman. The July 2001 edition of The Meteoritical Bulletin heralds the discovery of the newest lunar meteorite, a small brownish-gray stone found in the Sultanate of Oman.The meteorite, weighing just 6.1 ounces (174 grams), joins a select group of about 23 rocks known to have arrived on Earth after being blasted from the moon. Those rocks represent anywhere from 15 to 18 separate meteorite falls. 
Rocks from the Earth's moon are some of the rarest among the estimated 25,000 meteorites discovered on Earth. The new meteorite, called Dhofar 081, is the third lunar example found in a desert region of the Sultanate of Oman. Although found by an anonymous collector in the vicinity of the other two, it may represent a distinct fall. "There is always a possibility they could be paired," said Jeffrey Grossman, The Meteoritical Bulletins editor. Hotbed for rock hunters The meteorite was found November 29, 1999 in Omans Dhofar region, which has fast become a hotbed for space rock hunters. More 200 more meteorites from the area await official naming, Grossman said. The region has already yielded several Martian meteorites as well, which along with the lunar examples are the rarest of the rare among the estimated 25,000 meteorites discovered on Earth. All told, fewer than 50 rocks from Mars and the moon are known.Thanks to the combined efforts of the American Apollo and Soviet Luna missions, there are hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of lunar rock and soil samples available for study here on Earth. But those samples, collected on nine separate missions, all come from a relatively restricted area of the moon, said Marilyn Lindstrom, Antarctic Meteorite Curator at NASAs Johnson Space Center.Thus any additional lunar meteorites that arrive on Earth broaden the geographic diversity of the moon samples scientists can study first hand.Small fall "People have described these meteorites as poor mans missions," Grossman said. And although there is the perception that scientists are swimming in moon rocks, the size of the overall lunar sample collection pales in comparison when its mass is pitted against that of a large meteorite fall. For example, the Willamette Meteorite on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York weighs in at 15.5 tons. "A large iron meteorite fall is much larger than all the lunar samples put together," Lindstrom said. 
"A large iron meteorite fall is much larger than all the lunar samples put together."
The finder of the meteorite has held on to the bulk of the rock, releasing about one-ninth of it for scientific study. Presumably, much of the meteorite will be sold on the open market, where lunar examples fetch prices in the many thousands of dollars. The July 2001 Meteoritical Bulletin also contains the official announcements of a number of space rock oddities. Those include:- Oued el Hadjar:
This meteorite came whistling down on the Earth in March 1986, nearly missing the tent of a group of Moroccan nomads in the process. The nomads smashed the meteorite into pieces some two weeks later, crushing it on an altar during a wedding ceremony.
- Sologne:
A man found this meteorite while rifling through a box in his late grandmothers attic. An attached note said the rock had fallen to Earth in 1860.
This rock struck a garage in Washtenaw County, Michigan in September 1997, breaking into three pieces.
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