The Moon
There are more than 40 different lunar meteorites collected on Earth, some of which represent regions of the Moon that were not sampled by the Apollo and Luna missions. These meteorites therefore provide the first global sample-set of lunar samples and provide a context for interpreting the age and chemical results of Apollo, particularly as the latter were strongly influenced by Imbrium ejecta and development of the Procellarum KREEP terraine. Our lunar work is laboratory based and concentrates on the chronology and geochemistry of lunar meteorites. However, we are most interested in attempting to tie the lunar meteorites to ground truth on the Moon - specifically to determine their sources regions. Thus, an important step will be to integrate results obtained from the meteorites with geochemical data obtained by orbiting (and in the future lander) spacecraft.
Clasts in lunar meteorite Dar al Gani 262 a feldspathic regolith breccia
Surface iron concentration reveals the contrast between mare and highland regions of the moon. Lunar meteorites represent a random sample from the entire lunar surface (image courtesy http://meteorites.wustl.edu/lunar/moon_meteorites.htm).