Lunar Science: A Post - Apollo View

Scientific Results and Insights from the Lunar Samples

1st Edition - January 1, 1975
Author: Stuart Ross Taylor
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 1 - 6 0 8 9 - 4

Lunar Science: A Post-Apollo View: Scientific Results and Insights from the Lunar Samples examines the scientific data and discoveries provided by the manned Apollo lunar missions… Read more

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Lunar Science: A Post-Apollo View: Scientific Results and Insights from the Lunar Samples examines the scientific data and discoveries provided by the manned Apollo lunar missions as they are understood. The interpretative aspects of the study are given emphasis in order to present a coherent story of the evolution and origin of the moon based on the lunar samples collected by Apollo. This text has seven chapters; the first of which discusses studies and observations of the moon, particularly its surface, prior to Apollo. Attention then turns to the beginning of the Apollo missions, six of which were successful and one was aborted. The next chapter outlines the broad framework of the lunar landscape and the stratigraphic relations, focusing on lunar topography and other geologic features such as craters, rilles, central peaks and peak rings, wrinkle ridges, and maria lava flows. The reader is also introduced to the nature of the moon's surface, highlighting features such as microcraters and micrometeorites, along with maria basalts, the highlands, and the lunar interior. A chapter on the state of knowledge about the evolution and origin of the moon based on evidence gathered by the Apollo missions concludes the book. An epilogue assesses the usefulness of manned space flight. This book will be valuable to lunar scientists as well as to those with an interest in astronomy and space exploration.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 The Pre-Apollo Setting

1.2 The Apollo Landings and the Lunar Samples

Chapter 2 Lunar Geology

2.1 The Face of the Moon

2.2 Stratigraphy of the Lunar Surface

2.3 Stratigraphic and Absolute Age Scales

2.4 Lunar Topography

2.5 The Larger Lunar Craters

2.6 Central Peaks and Peak Rings

2.7 The Large Ringed Basins

2.8 Relation of Ringed Basins and Smooth-Plains-Forming Deposits

2.9 Layering in the Highlands

2.10 Maria Lava Flows

2.11 Rilles

2.12 Wrinkle Ridges

2.13 Low Albedo Areas

2.14 Swirls

Chapter 3 The Surface of the Moon

3.1 The Extreme Upper Surface

3.2 The Regolith

3.3 Structure of the Regolith

3.4 Chemistry of the Regolith

3.5 "Age" of the Soils

3.6 Glasses

3.7 Tektites

3.8 The Mega-Regolith

3.9 Craters and Cratering Rates

3.10 Microcraters and Micrometeorites

3.11 Meteorite Flux

3.12 Solar and Galactic Cosmic Rays

3.13 Fossil Track Studies

3.14 Cosmogenic Radionuclides

3.15 Rare Gases

3.16 Volatilization of Elements at the Lunar Surface

3.17 Lunar Atmosphere

3.18 Exobiology

3.19 Organic Geochemistry

Chapter 4 The Maria

4.1 The Lavas

4.2 Types of Maria Basalts

4.3 Emerald Green and Orange Glasses

4.4 Composition of Maria Basalts

4.5 The Large Cations

4.6 The Rare Earth Elements

4.7 The Europium Anomaly

4.8 The Large, High-Valency Cations

4.9 The Ferromagnesian Elements

4.10 Sulfur and the Chalcophile Elements

4.11 The Siderophile Elements

4.12 Oxygen and Carbon Isotopes

4.13 Cosmochemical Implications of the Trace Element Abundances

4.14 Ages of Maria Basalts

4.15 Sources of the Maria Basalts

4.16 Impact Melting

4.17 Partial Melting in the Interior

4.18 Cooling and Crystallization of the Lavas

4.19 Fractional Crystallization

Chapter 5 The Highlands

5.1 The Highland Crust

5.2 Breccias

5.3 Impact-Induced Melting

5.4 Element Migration in Breccias

5.5 Sampling of the Highland Crust

5.6 Highland Rock Types

5.7 Experimental Petrology and the Source of the Highland Rock Types

5.8 The Orbital Chemical Data

5.9 Inter-Element Correlations

5.10 The Chemical Composition of the Highlands

5.11 The Ancient Meteoritic Component

5.12 Ages of the Highland Rocks

Chapter 6 The Interior of the Moon

6.1 Radius, Density, and Moment of Inertia

6.2 Lunar Gravity and the Mascons

6.3 Lunar Seismicity

6.4 Structure of the Lunar Interior

6.5 Temperatures within the Moon

6.6 Lunar Magnetism

6.7 Origin of the Lunar Magnetic Field

Chapter 7 The Origin and Evolution of the Moon

7.1 The New Moon

7.2 The Boundary Conditions from the Apollo Missions

7.3 Homogeneous Versus Heterogeneous Accretion

7.4 The Overall Composition of the Moon

7.5 Rare Earth Patterns in the Lunar Interior

7.6 Geochemical Evolution of the Moon

7.7 Lunar Origins

7.8 The Double Planet Hypothesis

7.9 Fission Hypothesis

7.10 Capture Hypotheses

7.11 The Solar Nebula

Epilogue On the Usefulness of Manned Space Flight

Appendix I Reference Abbreviations

Appendix II Primary Data Sources

Glossary

Author Index

Subject Index