NWA, Oriented Iron

This 267.5 gram heat-shield came from Aras Jonikas.  When I first saw photos, it looked so smooth and round that I thought it was a mill ball.  After it arrived, closer inspection showed flow lines and ablation features I have never seen on any terrestrial material.  I don’t think we’ll be analyzing it beyond confirmation with an SEM.  It’s a near perfect heat-shield with preserved flow lines and a thick lip on the trailing face.

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