A chunk of the moon that fell to the Earth as a lunar meteorite has been sold at auction for more than $600,000.

Boston-based RR Auction announced the $612,500 winning bid for the meteorite, composed of six fragments that fit together like a puzzle, came from a representative working with the Tam Chuc Pagoda complex in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam.

The meteorite comes in six pieces that fit together, weighing a total of about 5kg (12lbs) and is known as NWA 11789, and unofficially known as “The Moon Puzzle”.

The auction house predicted it would fetch $500,000 at auction.

The meteorite was found last year in a remote area of Mauritania in north-west Africa. But experts believe it may have plunged to earth thousands of years ago.

It is considered one of the most significant lunar meteorites ever found because of its large size and because it has “partial fusion crust” caused by the tremendous heat that sears the rock as it falls to Earth.