scholarly journals Coordinated analysis of space weathering characteristics in lunar samples to understand water distribution on the Moon

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (S1) ◽  
pp. 2260-2262
Author(s):  
Alexander Kling ◽  
Michelle Thompson ◽  
Jennika Greer ◽  
Philipp Heck
Keyword(s):  
Water Distribution ◽  
Space Weathering ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Lunar Samples

scholarly journals 6. The Nature of Asteroid Surfaces, from Optical Polarimetry

1977 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 243-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Dollfus ◽  
J. E. Geake ◽  
J. C. Mandeville ◽  
B. Zellner
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Space Weathering ◽  
Carbonaceous Chondrites ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Laboratory Measurements ◽  
Surface Textures ◽  
Lunar Samples ◽  
Dark Material ◽  
Polarization Of Light ◽  
Scanning Electron

Telescopic observations of the polarization of light by asteroids are interpreted on the basis of a systematic polarimetric analysis of terrestrial, meteoritic and lunar samples. Laboratory measurements were made using samples with different surface textures, and scanning electron microscope pictures were used to investigate the influence of microtexture and crystalline structure.It is demonstrated that asteioid surfaces do not accumulate thick regolithic layers of micro-fragments, as do the Moon and Mercury. This is because the majority of debris ejected by impacts are lost, due to the low gravitational escape velocity from these bodies. However, asteroids are not bare rocks, but are coated with a thin layer of adhesive debris. This coating apparently has the composition of the body itself. The fact that there is no indication of significant maturation by space weathering suggests that the dust which coats the surface of asteroids is frequently replaced by further impacts.Asteroids may be classified polarimetrically in several groups: those in group C are made of very dark material and behave like carbonaceous chondrites, or very dark Fe-rich basalts; Those in group S correspond to silicates and stony meteorites. A third group represented by Asteroid 21 Lutetia and 16 Psyche may be metallic.

scholarly journals PREFACE

1977 ◽  
Vol 285 (1327) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Recent Decade ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Practical Reasons ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
Space Technology ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Related Space ◽  
Space Experiments ◽  
Lunar Samples ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

This volume presents papers delivered during the Royal Society discussion meeting held on 9-12 June 1975 under the auspices of the British National Committee on Space Research. The meeting was organized to present the findings of European and Commonwealth scientists who had participated in the analyses of lunar samples, both as principal and co-investigators in the Apollo lunar sample analysis programme and as analysts of the Luna samples provided by the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences under arrangements with national academies. Scientists from the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. were also invited to participate and so the meeting became sufficiently representative and its timing appropriate for the much needed attempt to review the whole of the work on lunar samples and the results of related space experiments. It was the purpose of the meeting, and of the Proceedings, to show how the new knowledge about the Moon, acquired over the recent decade from the intensive study made possible by the space technology developed in the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., had solved some and thrown light on other fundamental questions about the Moon. For practical reasons the meeting was overweighted in favour of British and European contributions; but this gave an opportunity for these laboratories to express their appreciation to N.A.S.A. and to the U.S.S.R Academy of Sciences for the opportunity to participate in a unique scientific programme. We hope that the publication will perform a service in bringing before scientists, and indeed the public in general, the remarkable increase in our understanding of the Moon which has resulted from the space programme and will show how international collaboration has been such an important feature of it.

scholarly journals The New Moon: Major Advances in Lunar Science Enabled by Compositional Remote Sensing from Recent Missions

Geosciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 498
Author(s):  
Deepak Dhingra
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
The Moon ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Lunar Science ◽  
Lunar Interior ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Lunar Samples ◽  
Resource Exploration ◽  
Globally Distributed

Volatile-bearing lunar surface and interior, giant magmatic-intrusion-laden near and far side, globally distributed layer of purest anorthosite (PAN) and discovery of Mg-Spinel anorthosite, a new rock type, represent just a sample of the brand new perspectives gained in lunar science in the last decade. An armada of missions sent by multiple nations and sophisticated analyses of the precious lunar samples have led to rapid evolution in the understanding of the Moon, leading to major new findings, including evidence for water in the lunar interior. Fundamental insights have been obtained about impact cratering, the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean and conditions during the origin of the Moon. The implications of this understanding go beyond the Moon and are therefore of key importance in solar system science. These new views of the Moon have challenged the previous understanding in multiple ways and are setting a new paradigm for lunar exploration in the coming decade both for science and resource exploration. Missions from India, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and several private ventures promise continued exploration of the Moon in the coming years, which will further enrich the understanding of our closest neighbor. The Moon remains a key scientific destination, an active testbed for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) activities, an outpost to study the universe and a future spaceport for supporting planetary missions.

Space weathering on the Moon: Patina on Apollo 17 samples 75075 and 76015

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. WENTWORTH ◽  
Lindsay P. KELLER ◽  
David S. McKAY ◽  
Richard V. MORRIS
Keyword(s):  
Space Weathering ◽  
The Moon

Structure in the upper lunar crust

1977 ◽  
Vol 285 (1327) ◽  
pp. 469-473 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Elastic Moduli ◽  
Velocity Profiles ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Rock Layer ◽  
Lunar Crust ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Lunar Samples

Estimates are made of the degree of lithification and of structure densities which are compatible with lunar in situ seismic profiles in the top 30 km of the Moon. Estimates are based on comparison of results of passive and active lunar seismic experiments with the pressure dependence of elastic moduli for various classes of lunar samples. Competent rock, such as igneous rock or recrystallized breccias with crack porosity of not more than about 0.5 % are required to satisfy velocity profiles in the depth range 1-30 km. Velocity profiles in the upper 1 km are best satisfied by comminuted material to highly fractured lithic units. These estimates constrain those thermal and shock histories which are compatible with lunar seismic results. After crystallization, or recrystallization, rock below 1 km cannot have been exposed to more than moderate shock levels. In the uppermost 1 km, an unannealed and broken rock layer would imply low thermal conductivity resulting in possible temperatures at 1 km depth of several hundred kelvins.

Implantation of ions escaping the atmosphere of Mars within the regolith of Phobos, and Phobos’ surface ion weathering

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Nénon ◽  
Andrew R Poppe ◽  
Ali Rahmati ◽  
James P McFadden
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Atomic Oxygen ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Ion Composition ◽  
Atmospheric Escape ◽  
The Past ◽  
Lunar Samples ◽  
Singly Charged

<p>Mars has lost and is losing its atmosphere into space. Strong evidences of this come from the observation of planetary singly charged heavy ions (atomic oxygen, molecular oxygen, carbon dioxide ions) by Mars Express and MAVEN. Phobos, the closest moon of Mars, orbits only 6,000 kilometers above the red planet’s surface and is therefore a unique vantage point of the planetary atmospheric escape, with the escaping ions being implanted within the regolith of Phobos and altering the properties of the moon’s surface.</p> <p>In this presentation, we aggregate all ion observations gathered in-situ close to the orbit of Phobos by three ion instruments onboard MAVEN, from 2015 to 2019, to constrain the long-term averaged ion environment seen by the Martian moon at all longitudes along its orbit. In particular, the SupraThermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument onboard MAVEN distinguishes between solar wind and planetary ions. The newly constrained long-term ion environment seen by Phobos is combined with numerical simulations of ion transport and effects in matter.</p> <p>This way, we find that planetary ions are implanted on the near side of Phobos (pointing towards Mars) inside the uppermost tens of nanometers of regolith grains. The composition of near-side grains that may be sampled by future Phobos sample return missions is therefore not only contaminated by planetary ions, as seen in lunar samples with the terrestrial atmosphere, but may show a unique record of the past atmosphere of Mars.</p> <p>The long-term fluxes of planetary ions precipitating onto Phobos are so intense that these ions weather the moon’s surface as much as or more than solar wind ions. In particular, Martian ions accelerate the long-term sputtering and amorphization of the near side regolith by a factor of 2. Another implication is that ion weathering is highly asymmetric between the near side and far side of Phobos.</p>

scholarly journals Isotopic evidence for volatile replenishment of the Moon during the Late Accretion

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 1247-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhao Lin ◽  
Wim van Westrenen
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Carbonaceous Chondrite ◽  
Isotopic Ratios ◽  
Delivery Time ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Lunar Interior ◽  
Delivery Times ◽  
Lunar Samples ◽  
Water Contents

AbstractThe traditional view of a dry, volatile-poor Moon has been challenged by the identification of water and other volatiles in lunar samples, but the volatile budget delivery time(s), source(s) and temporal evolution remain poorly constrained. Here we show that hydrogen and chlorine isotopic ratios in lunar apatite changed significantly during the Late Accretion (LA, 4.1–3.8 billion years ago). During this period, deuterium/hydrogen ratios in the Moon changed from initial carbonaceous-chondrite-like values to values consistent with an influx of ordinary-chondrite-like material and pre-LA elevated δ37Cl values drop towards lower chondrite-like values. Inferred pre-LA lunar interior water contents are significantly lower than pristine values suggesting degassing, followed by an increase during the LA. These trends are consistent with dynamic models of solar-system evolution, suggesting that the Moon's (and Earth's) initial volatiles were replenished ∼0.5 Ga after their formation, with their final budgets reflecting a mixture of sources and delivery times.

scholarly journals Space weathering of the Moon from in situ detection

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Zhao Wu ◽  
Zhen-Chao Wang ◽  
Yu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Space Weathering ◽  
The Moon ◽  
In Situ Detection

Magnetic properties of Apollo 12 lunar samples

1971 ◽  
Vol 325 (1561) ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Crystalline Rocks ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Native Iron ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Lunar Samples

The magnetic properties of crystalline rock and fines returned by the Apollo 12 mission have been measured. The fines contain at least 0.7% by mass of native iron, mainly in the super- paramagnetic form at room temperature. Native iron is present in the crystalline rock but in a much lower concentration. The paramagnetic minerals, ilmenite and ulvöspinel, are present. Some evidence has been obtained that magnetite is present in the crystalline rock, less than 0.02% by mass. It has not yet been established whether it is indigenous to the rock. Two samples exhibit a change in n.r.m. at low temperature consistent with this n.r.m. being carried by magnetite, but these investigations are not yet complete. The crystalline rocks possess an n.r.m. of intermediate stability: there is evidence for two components of magnetization, a weak and rather stable one, and a less stable but stronger component. The former indicates the presence of a magnetic field on the moon at the time of formation of the rocks. An external origin seems unlikely: thus the Moon possessed a magnetic field of internal origin 3400 Ma§ ago which has since decayed.

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