Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Moon Samples

Abstract

Lunar bulk sample 10084,85 (< 1 mm size dust), and samples from rocks 10017,17 (fine grained, vesicular), 10046,17 (breccia), 10057,59 (fine grained, vesicular, top surface), 10057,60 (fine grained, vesicular, interior), and 10058,24 (medium grained, not vesicular) have been investigated by (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Iron metal and the Fe(2+) minerals ilmenite, pyroxene, troilite, and iron containing glass have been identified. An iron line of sample 10084,85 (originally sealed in nitrogen) showed no significant intensity change when the sample was exposed to air. The antiferromagnetic transition in several lunar ilmenites at 57(0) +/- 2 degrees K corresponds to stoichiometric FeTiO,. Magneticallv separated 10057 showed troilite and somne metallic iron.

Amorphous Solids : A Review of the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect

“…The Mossbauer spectrum of the 5 000 FeGe film shown in figure I has an isomer shift of 0.45 mm/s relative to iron metal, close to that of the cubic phase of ordered, crystalline FeGe. Amorphous iron-bearing minerals have not been widely studied, except for glasses of lunar [91] and meteoric origin [92]. Also a natural amorphous ferric gel has been characterised by its Mossbauer spectrum [93] and identified as a major component of lake sediments [94].…”

Applications of Mössbauer Spectroscopy in Meteoritical and Planetary Science, Part II: Differentiated Meteorites, Moon, and Mars

“…The room temperature spectra of Lunar The results of various other studies of Lunar soils, rocks, fines, glasses, etc. from Apollo missions using Mössbauer spectroscopy were discussed in various papers (see, e.g., [108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119]). These results indicated the presence of silicate phases, mainly pyroxene and sometimes olivine, ilmenite, troilite, and metallic iron alloy in different quantities depending on the sample.…”

Iron Oxides and Sulphides

“…(B) Data on the bulk dust sample 10084,85 showed it to contain high-spin Fe2+ in ilmenite, iron-bearing glass, and pyroxene (M1 and M2 sites), as well as small quantities of iron metal [239]. Fractionation ofthe dust according to density established that the metal was associated primarily with the glass.…”