Petrographic data and pyroxene compositions indicate that meteorite ALHA 81005 is a breccia from the terrae of the Earth's Moon. Thin section ALHA 81005,9 includes ferroan anorthositic clasts, a lone clast of Mg-suite plutonic composition, fragments which are intermediate in composition between ferroan anorthosite and Mg-suite plutonics, and a clast of very low-titanium mare basalt. Fragments of norite and harzburgite have mineral compositions like ferroan anorthosite, and a clast of ferroan anorthosite has pyroxenes with lower molar Mg/(Mg+Fe) than in known pristine rocks. The Mg-suite protoliths for the clasts of intermediate composition are inferred to be magnesian troctolites, spinel troctolites and feldspathic 1 herzolites. Although clasts of these lithologies are not present in ALHA 81005,9, mineral fragments from them are present. A single basaltic clast is of mare origin, based on the molar Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio and Cr content of its pyroxenes. The composition of its plagioclase and the molar Ti/(Ti+Cr) ratios of its pyroxenes indicate that the clast is a fragment of very low-titanium (VLT) mare basalt. If this basalt is significantly younger than the last basin-forming impact event (≂3.9¿109 years ago), its presence probably constrains the source crater for ALHA 81005 to be within a hundred kilometers of a VLT mare basalt flow. |