The Apollo missions and the chemistry of the moon

Abstract

The Apollo Missions and the Chemistry of the MoonThe purpose of this paper is to present a picture of the principal chemical features of the Moon, in light of the several Apollo missions. General physical features of the Moon will also be discussed briefly. Finally, several theories of the origin of the Moon will be considered, particularly those presented at the Fifth Lunar Science Conference. General Features of the Lunar LandscapeFrom Earth, the most evident feature of the Moon is its division into bright and dark areas. One-third of the visible face is dark, and the rest bright. Without light of its own, the Moon shines only by reflecting the sunlight which falls on it. However, while the Earth reflects some 40% of the sunlight it receives, because of its atmospheric envelope, the Moon reflects only about 7%. Technically, one speaks of the average albedo (or reflectivity) of the Moon as 0.07 and of the Earth as 0.40 (1). The bright, areas of the Moon correspond to the mountainous "highlands" while the lower lying dark areas are called the "maria." Superimposed on this two level relief structure are countless craters and associated rays,. rilles, ridges, and scarps.Craters on the Moon are enormous compared to those on Earth. For example, Theophilus and Tycho are considerably larger than the largest of the craters so far identified on Earth, whether they be volcanic or meteoritic in origin (2), These circular, walled depressions dominate the lunar landscape, appearing in valleys, on the tops of slopes, in the maria, and inside other craters. The larger craters are characteristically surrounded by steep mountain walls and have floors generally lower than the neighboring landscape. Lines of small contiguous craters, known as chain craters, are also observed. Meteorite impacts are believed to be responsible for most of the lunar craters. A few craters may be of volcanic origin, but proof of the existence of volcanic craters is still a moot point. ments, which may leave the surface on one side higher than the other.

Teaching Chemistry Using From the Earth to the Moon

“…The flight of Apollo 15 resulted in the discovery of a sample of crystalline rock that was 4.5 billion years old (1,15,16). Why send humans when robots may be able to do what astronauts were doing at less cost and without the risk to life?…”

“…In fact, some samples that appear gray on the macroscopic level have other colors such as green when viewed on the microscopic level (1,19). Astronaut James Lovell first described the moon as gray with no other color during the flight of Apollo 8.…”

“…This serves to show that when intellectually stimulating teachers can get their students motivated, instruction becomes more effective. The flight of Apollo 15 resulted in the discovery of a sample of crystalline rock that was 4.5 billion years old (1,15,16). This sample is part of the primordial lunar crust.…”

“…The space program and media based on it have provided examples that can be used to teach chemistry (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Recently, a paper was published in this Journal entitled "Teaching Chemistry Using the Movie Apollo 13" (4).…”

Analysis of the earth's surface. A course in analytical chemistry

“…We found that an excellent technique for generating discussion on this topic was to have students imagine that they were astronauts who want to analyze the lunar surface. An excellent article by Pacer and Ehmann has appeared recently in this Journal discussing the chemical features of the moon (5).…”