Extraterrestrial Amino Acids - CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrites

Above: The front of the specimen card

Each year nearly 40,000,000 kilograms (88.1 million pounds) of meteoritic material rains down on the Earth from outer space. Less than 1% of these falls holds traces of organic compounds, and within this tiny subset scientists sometimes come across even rarer material: amino acids.

Above: Working on samples of the Murchison meteorite.

Crafted in our workshop, this specimen is composed of two special carbonaceous chondrites: Murchison and Jbilet Winselwan. The specimen measures roughly 1.5cm in length or three times the size of the specimen included in the Fourth Edition Mini Museum.

Above: Preparing specimens. Each sheet is made by hand.

Both of these meteorites are CM2 class carbonaceous chondrites, a class known to contain the highest density of amino acids. Murchison in particular is one of the most studied of all meteorites, displaying over 70 different amino acids, including 8 of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids used to build proteins encoded in our DNA found in all life here on Earth.

Above: The Extraterrestrial Amino Acids (CM2 Class Carbonaceous Chondrites) Specimen with two fragments of the Murchison meteorite.

The specimen is housed in an acrylic jar that is encased within a glass-topped riker display box. The box measures 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". A small information card is also included, which serves as the certificate of authenticity.

Please Note: The distribution of the meteoritic material in each specimen will be unique. Product images are representative samples. The approximate size is 2 cm wide by 1 cm tall (e.g. twice the size of the specimen in the Fourth Edition).