[3] ALH A81005 was found in 1982 in the Allan Hills at the end of the Transantarctic Mountains, during a meteorite gathering expedition (ANSMET).

[2][4] It is named after the Allan Hills, a mountain chain in Antarctica where many meteorites are gathered by expeditions.

Every meteorite found in Antarctica receives the names of the collection area (Allan Hills) and a number.

The "A" in front of the number stands for meteorites collected by ANSMET expeditions and can be considered optional.

[1] The determination that ALH A81005 was of lunar origin was made by Robert Clayton and Toshiko Mayeda, researchers at the University of Chicago,[6] following the determination by Smithsonian Institution scientist Brian Harold Mason that the meteorite was similar in chemical and isotopic composition to rocks returned by the Apollo program astronauts from lunar highland areas.