Luc Labenne

Meteorite hunter

Luc Labenne is a world-renowned expert when it comes to meteorites.

The meteorite hunter

Exploration

Luc Labenne began his career roaming the harshest deserts in search of rare treasures from the heavens: rocks from space, that hold the secrets of the solar system are coveted by both scientists and collectors alike.

His passion was already sparked during his childhood. As a boy, he would go off on hikes in nature to look for fossils. His view of the world later expanded with the discovery of the celestial realms. To slake his thirst, he did not shrink from travelling night and day through the most remote deserts searching for precious aeroliths. For him, each new discovery sparked absolute fascination. Holding a rock coming from space and being the first human to touch it was a unique experience.

So, Luc gave up his career as a physician to fulfil his passion, learning about the cosmos and finding meteorites. That is how, in the desert of Oman, he came across the first lunar meteorite officially identified as such. He also found rocks from Mars and other extremely rare specimens dating back billions of years.

To make sure of the rocks’ provenance and chemical composition, Luc will cut off a sample and send it to a competent laboratory for analysis and classification. The meteorite is then given a name, and a full report on it is published in the Meteoritical Bulletin.

Extraterrestrial fragments

These meteorites, the rarest in the world, testify to a highly exclusive nature.

Lunar meteorite

Lunar meteorite is one of the rarest. To date, less than 400 lunar meteorites have been identified in the world.

Martian meteorite

Martian meteorite is one of the rarest. To date, fewer than 300 Martian meteorites have been identified in the world. The price per gram is higher than gold and platinum combined.

Allende meteorite

The oldest known material in the solar system. Its age is estimated at 4.567 billion years old – making it older than the Earth itself.

Erg Chech meteorite

This exceptional meteorite is older than the earth. It is estimated to date back 4.566 billion years.

Jbilet Winselwan meteorite

This mysterious meteorite contains traces of amino acids, potentially the very first trace of known life in the cosmos.

Isheyevo meteorite

Isheyevo, found in Russia in 2003, is a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite containing a beautiful sequence of fine layers.

Gibeon meteorite

This iron meteorite was found in Namibia. It displays an extraterrestrial motif: the exceptional Widmanstätten pattern.

Armanty meteorite

This meteorite, composed of a natural and extraterrestrial ferronickel alloy, comes from the heart of an asteroid measuring more than 100 km in diameter. It was discovered in recent years in China.