Bench Crater meteorite | |
---|---|
![]() Bench Crater – view of "rubble pile" in center of crater. The "Bench Crater meteorite" was collected during the Apollo 12 mission (EVA-2, November 20, 1969). | |
Type | Chondrite |
Class | Carbonaceous chondrite |
Country | Earth's Moon |
Found date | November 20, 1969 |
![]() Bench Crater SW (image bottom left) of the Apollo 12 lander (LRO, 2011) – shows footprints and hardware left by astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. |
The Bench Crater meteorite is a meteorite discovered on the Moon by Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969. It is part of the friable basalt lunar sample 12037. Found on the north-west rim of the Bench Crater, it is the first meteorite to be discovered on a Solar System body other than the Earth. Its diameter is just a few millimeters. It is listed as a carbonaceous chondrite by the Meteoritical Society.