2016-10-08 Sat

Austria issued a stunning out of the world stamp. A decade earlier, on 24th March 2006, Austrian post issued a stamp sprinkled with meteoroid dust. Austrian State Printing Company launched a stamp containing 0.03 grams of meteoroid dust.

The dust came from meteorite found in Morocco in 2004. The meteorite was identified as being H-chondrite by the Vienna Natural History Museum. The meteorite most probably originated from the Asteroid Belt that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. The meteorite is composed of Olivine, a mineral chemically defined as magnesium iron silicate. The gemstone known as Peridot is an example of gem-quality Olivine.

Some 600,000 copies have been made of the stamp. The powder comes from a 19-kilogram meteorite found two years ago in Morocco. The meteorite was crushed into a very fine dust, which was then hand-affixed to the circular stamp using a special adhesive. The stamp issue, called Mail from a Different World, sold for 3.75 EU.

Austria has done something amazing and truly has given us out of this world experience!