Lunar sourcebook. A user's guide to the moon

Ming, D. W.

doi:10.1016/0160-9327(92)90014-g

Cited by 18 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 380 publications

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“…These particles and minerals form both homogeneous (monomineralic) and heterogeneous (polymineralic) grains of various sizes and shapes, described subsequently, with subgranular, intergranular, and intragranular porosities. In situ porosity is typically up to 50% for most lunar regolith (Carrier et al, ). Figure shows (a) a schematic of a heterogeneous grain containing different types of porosities, (b) a microscope image of a microbreccia regolith sample, containing both monomineralic and polymineralic (breccia and plagioclase) particles, and (c) a higher‐resolution microscope image of a polymineralic grain.…”

Section: An Overview Of Existing Lunar Regolith Measurements and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Model for the Thermophysical Properties of Lunar Regolith at Low Temperatures

2019

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The thermophysical properties of lunar regolith have been thoroughly investigated for temperatures higher than 100 K. For the near‐equatorial thermal measurements of the Apollo era, this temperature range was sufficient to generate appropriate models. However, recent measurements from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment have revealed polar temperatures as low as 20 K, with apparently lower thermal inertia than explainable by existing theory. In the absence of comprehensive laboratory measurements of regolith thermal properties at low temperatures (<100 K), we investigate solid state theory and fits to lunar simulant materials to derive a semiempirical model of specific heat and thermal conductivity in lunar regolith in the full range 20–400 K. The primary distinctions between these previous models are (1) the temperature dependence of the solid conduction component of thermal conductivity at low temperatures, (2) the focus on regolith bulk density as the primary variable, and (3) the concept that the composition and modal petrology of grains could significantly influence thermal properties of the bulk regolith. This model predicts that at low temperatures, thermal conductivity is as much as an order of magnitude lower and specific heat is likely higher than expected from current models. The thermal conductivity at low temperature should vary depending on the constituent grain materials, their crystallinity, contributions from phonon scattering modes, bulk porosity, and density. To demonstrate the impact of our finding, we extrapolate the effects of our conductivity model on temperature variations in permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. This work motivates experimental confirmation of thermophysical properties of lunar regolith at low temperature.

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Section: An Overview Of Existing Lunar Regolith Measurements and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Model for the Thermophysical Properties of Lunar Regolith at Low Temperatures

2019

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“…Fe metal inclusions in wall troilite contain the highest nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) contents (Fe 0.84−0.88 Ni 0.14−0.10 Co 0.19−0.14 ), whereas those inclusions in rock troilite are nearly free of Ni (Fe 0.99 Ni <0.01 Co <0.01 ). The extensive chemical range of Fe metal in one mare basalt has not been reported previously 22 and could indicate formation process other than crystallization.…”

mentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Reconstructed data were exported as a sequence of 16-bit grayscale TIFFs with a voxel size of 55.2 µm. 22 . Fe metal in Apollo 15556 has not been analyzed previously.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Liu

Ma²,

Eckley

2023

Preprint

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All previous reports of magmatic water on the Moon are structurally-bound OH in minerals or glasses. Here, we report the discovery of ubiquitous Cu1.4−1.8S in pristine Apollo vesicular basalt 15556. This copper sulfide forms multiple, fine-grained coatings draping over troilite grains on vesicle walls or coats fracture surfaces around troilite inside the rock. They also occur as rose-like clusters of bladed crystals of ~ 1 µm size at the edge of the coatings, or massive aggregates of < 0.5 µm small euhedral grains on top of the coatings. The draping nature of the coatings combined with unique geochemical signatures suggests copper sulfide precipitated from aqueous Cu- and S-bearing liquids. This finding demonstrates that extensive crystallization of lunar magma can generate aqueous liquids, some of which may be still stored in intrusive igneous rocks.

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“…The density has been measured directly from Apollo core tube samples (Carrier et al 1991) and most recently from infrared data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer (Hayne et al 2017), as well as in situ measurements using ground-penetrating radar (Fa et al 2015, Fa 2020. The bulk density used in this study is 1660 ± 50 kg m −3 for the top 60 cm (Mitchell et al 1973;Carrier et al 1991). An analysis of the sensitivity of the key parameters shows that C has the greatest influence on F S (Figure 9).…”

Section: Is Given Bymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tectonics and Seismicity of the Lunar South Polar Region

Watters,

Schmerr,

Weber

et al. 2024

Planet. Sci. J.

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The lunar south pole regions are subjected to global stresses that result in contractional deformation and associated seismicity. This deformation is mainly expressed by lobate thrust fault scarps; examples are globally distributed, including polar regions. One small cluster of lobate scarps falls within the de Gerlache Rim 2 Artemis III candidate landing region. The formation of the largest de Gerlache scarp, less than 60 km from the pole, may have been the source of one of the strongest shallow moonquakes recorded by the Apollo Passive Seismic Network. The scarp is within a probabilistic space of relocated epicenters for this event determined in a previous study. Modeling suggests that a shallow moonquake with an M w of ∼5.3 may have formed the lobate thrust fault scarp. We modeled the peak ground acceleration generated by such an event and found that strong to moderate ground shaking is predicted at a distance from the source of at least ∼40 km, while moderate to light shaking may extend beyond ∼50 km. Models of the slope stability in the south polar region predict that most of the steep slopes in Shackleton crater are susceptible to regolith landslides. Light seismic shaking may be all that is necessary to trigger regolith landslides, particularly if the regolith has low cohesion (on the order of ∼0.1 kPa). The potential of strong seismic events from active thrust faults should be considered when preparing and locating permanent outposts and pose a possible hazard to future robotic and human exploration of the south polar region.

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Lunar sourcebook. A user's guide to the moon

Cited by 18 publications

References 380 publications

A Model for the Thermophysical Properties of Lunar Regolith at Low Temperatures

A Model for the Thermophysical Properties of Lunar Regolith at Low Temperatures

Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Tectonics and Seismicity of the Lunar South Polar Region

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