This newsletter contains classifications for 402 new meteorites from the 2002 and 2003 ANSMET collections. They include samples from MacAlpine Hill, LaPaz Ice Field, Pecora Escarpment, and the last from the Queen Alexandra Range region. Detailed macroscopic and petrographic descriptions are given for 33 of the new meteorites. After a long dry-spell, a new martian meteorite has appeared in the ANSMET collections. MIL 03346, a 715.2 g nakhlite, was the subject of a special newsletter last month. It is the first nakhlite to be part of the ANSMET collections, and the first martian meteorite recovered by this group since QUE 94210. In addition to this exciting meteorite are a variety of interesting new samples including a lunar basalt (paired with LAP 02205 from the previous newsletter), 5 irons (three are sulfide-rich), a ureilite, an unbrecciated eucrite, 4 diogenites (two are olivine-bearing), 4 aubrites (one is anomalous), 13 carbonaceous chondrites, an enstatite chondrite, and an H chondrite impact melt. The diversity of meteorites in this newsletter is a testament to the richness of the meteorite population in the LaPaz Ice Field.

Lunar Meteorite Compendium

Work has begun on a Lunar Meteorite Compendium. Allan Hills 81005, the first recognized lunar meteorite, will be the first chapter to be completed, and will include some of the original photographs taken during processing of this ~31 g meteorite. Processing sketches and genealogy charts have also been prepared and will be presented for this sample. It is expected that this compendium will be available in both a CD-ROM and website formats, but a detailed schedule for production has not yet been developed. Stay tuned for more information on this topic. In the meantime if you have some lunar meteorite publications that you think may be relevant to such a project, please send them to kevin.righter-1@nasa.gov. A few of you have done this already, and it has been very beneficial - thank you! .

Additions to our Website and Database

Numerous photographs of Antarctic meteorites were taken before 1997, but have not been available in digital format. These have been maintained in our data archives. We have also begun to add images of the more popular and well-studied meteorites to our webpage, so that investigators can have access to as much information about the samples as possible. For instance, NASA JSC laboratory photos of special meteorites such as angrite LEW 86010, or the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite, MAC 87300, are now available as a link from the classification database. It is our goal to eventually have all available images online.