Summary
The Apollo gamma-ray spectrometer, the Lunar Prospector and Clementine missions from the 1990s, and the more recent Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, and SELENE-1 missions have all identified terrains on the Moon that are very different from those sampled by the Apollo and Luna surface missions.
There are currently no NASA-funded robotic sample return missions, or human missions, directed towards the surface of the Moon. Thus, lunar meteorites represent the only new lunar samples available to the lunar science community. Integration of lunar meteorite, Apollo/Luna sample, and lunar orbit remote sensing data has lead to a more robust and comprehensive understanding of the Moon.
Many of the lunar meteorites, however, still require much more extensive study. The current state of knowledge of a few key parameters for lunar meteorites is summarized in Table 3.
This compendium is meant to facilitate the scientific comparisons of lunar meteorites, Apollo samples, and remote sensing data, hopefully leading to further discussions and interpretations of the geologic history of the Moon.