Far‐Ultraviolet Photometric Characteristics of JSC‐1A and LMS‐1 Lunar Regolith Simulants: Comparative Investigations With Apollo 10084

Abstract

In the decades following the retrieval of the Apollo samples, many terrestrially synthesized analogs to these samples have been produced that attempt to best match the bulk mineralogical and geotechnical properties of the lunar soils. However, these analogs generally lack space weathering features inherent to lunar grains (e.g., Pieters & Noble, 2016), and the chemical composition of these analogs (e.g., titanium-bearing mineral content) varies depending on the Apollo soil sample emulated in their formulation. The space weathering features, including nanophase iron (npFe 0 ) and agglutinates, along with other compositional differences, may affect the far-ultraviolet (FUV) reflectance spectra of the lunar soil. The availability of unweathered terrestrial analogs presents an opportunity to test the possible contributions of space weathering and mineralogical/chemical content on FUV reflectance properties and provide context for an improved understanding of the photometric response of Apollo soils.