Achondrites
Differentiated stony meteorites lacking chondrules, formed from melted and re-crystallised rock.
Overview
Stony meteorites from bodies that melted and differentiated — including basalts from the asteroid Vesta and rocks blasted off Mars and the Moon.
Groups
Meteorites
4 modelled meteorites.
- ALH 84001find
A Martian meteorite recovered from Antarctica in 1984 and made famous in 1996 by a disputed claim that microscopic structures within it might be evidence of ancient Martian microbial life.
ClassMartian (orthopyroxenite)Date1984 - ALHA 81005find
The first meteorite recognised as a piece of the Moon, recovered from Antarctica in 1982 — its match to Apollo samples proved that lunar rocks can be delivered to Earth as meteorites.
ClassLunar (anorthositic breccia)Date1982 - Millbillilliefall
A eucrite whose fall was witnessed in October 1960 (the stones recovered in the following years) — one of the HED meteorites, basaltic rocks blasted from the surface of the asteroid Vesta, whose spectra they match.
ClassEucrite (HED)CountryAustraliaDate1960 (October) - NWA 7034find
Nicknamed 'Black Beauty', a Martian breccia containing the most water of any Mars meteorite and some of the oldest Martian crust yet sampled.
ClassMartian (polymict breccia)CountryMoroccoDate2011
Knowledge connections
- ContainsHED Meteorites
- ContainsMartian Meteorites
- ContainsLunar Meteorites
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.