Meteorite Rafsa 005 – Algeria

Rafsa 005 is a rare angrite meteorite found in 2023 in the Tindouf region of Algeria. The total mass of the material found was 2.027 kilograms, with fragments found scattered across the desert region.

This meteorite was subsequently classified as an angrite, an extremely rare type of achondritic meteorite. Achondrites do not contain chondrules (spherical inclusions common in primitive meteorites) because they have undergone a process of melting and crystallization. Specifically, angrites formed as a result of volcanic activity on small planetary bodies - probably early protoplanets in the Solar System that were large enough to undergo planetary differentiation (the formation of a core, mantle, and crust).

Angrites are very old rocks with an estimated age of about 4.56 billion years, making them some of the oldest known materials in the Solar System. They contain unique minerals such as anorthite, olivine, augite and often phosphate and iron oxides in unusual proportions. Their chemical and isotopic compositions are markedly different from most other meteorites and indicate an origin from a body that evolved separately from the major planets.