Soil mechanical properties at the Apollo 14 site.
The Apollo 14 lunar landing provided a greater amount of information on the mechanical properties of the lunar soil than previous missions. Measurements on core-tube samples and the results of transporter track analyses indicate that the average density of the soil in the Fra Mauro region is in the range from 1.45 to 1.60 g/cu cm. The soil strength appears to be higher in the vicinity of the site of the Apollo 14 lunar surface experiments package, and trench data suggest that strength increases with depth. Lower-bound estimates of soil cohesion give values of 0.03 to 0.10 kN/sq m, which are lower than values of 0.35 to 0.70 kN/sq m estimated for soils encountered in previous missions. The in situ modulus of elasticity, deduced from the measured seismic-wave velocity, is compatible with that to be expected for a terrestrial silty fine sand in the lunar gravitational field.