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Mckay, D. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Mckay, D. S..

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Petrographic survey of lunar regolith breccias

Regolith breccias from the Moon and from parent bodies of some meteorites may provide samples of ancient regoliths which have been frozen in time. If these rocks were essentially closed at some earlier time and that time can be determined, then these rocks provide a record of conditions in the solar system at that point in time. A survey of regolith breccias in the Apollo collection was conducted concentrating initially on Apollo 15 and 16. All available thin sections for 32 regolith breccias from Apollo 15 and 19 breccias from Apollo 16 were surveyed. These are most of the returned regolith breccias larger than 1 cm from these two mission. For comparison several fragmental matrix breccias which do not strictly qualify as regolith breccias were investigated. The criteria for classification as a regolith breccia is the presence of identifiable soil components such as glass spheres or agglutinates. The breccias are classified according to their intergranular porosity. In addition the fracture porosity is noted, and the relative abundance of agglutinates and spheres. Several petrographic trends are also noted. Identifiable regolith material decreases with decreasing intergranular porosity while fracture porosity increases. This relative lack of maturity of regolith breccias mayreflect their generally earlier formation age an the maturity of the regolith at that earlier time.

Mckay, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The solar maximum satellite capture cell: Impact features and orbital debris and micrometeoritic projectile materials

The physical properties of impact features observed in the Solar Max main electronics box (MEB) thermal blanket generally suggest an origin by hypervelocity impact. The chemistry of micrometeorite material suggests that a wide variety of projectile materials have survived impact with retention of varying degrees of pristinity. Impact features that contain only spacecraft paint particles are on average smaller than impact features caused by micrometeorite impacts. In case both types of materials co-occur, it is belevied that the impact feature, generally a penetration hole, was caused by a micrometeorite projectile. The typically smaller paint particles were able to penetrate though the hole in the first layer and deposit in the spray pattern on the second layer. It is suggested that paint particles have arrived with a wide range of velocities relative to the Solar Max satellite. Orbiting paint particles are an important fraction of materials in the near-Earth environment. In general, the data from the Solar Max studies are a good calibration for the design of capture cells to be flown in space and on board Space Station. The data also suggest that development of multiple layer capture cells in which the projectile may retain a large degree of pristinity is a feasible goal.

Mckay, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

An inadvertent capture cell for orbital debris and micrometeorites - The main electronics box thermal blanket of the solar maximum satellite

The physical properties of impact features in the Solar Max main electronics box thermal blanket are consistent with hypervelocity impacts of particles in the near-earth space environment. The majority of particles are orbital debris and include spacecraft paints and bismuth-rich particles. At least 30 percent of all impact features are caused by micrometeorites, which include silicates and sulfides. Some micrometeorites survive impact with only minor shock-metamorphic effects or chemical fractionation. Currently calibration experiments are under way to relate flux to particle diameter (or mass).

Rietmeijer, F. J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chemical variability and origin of agglutinitic glass

Over 600 energy dispersive X-ray analyses of pure glass in 32 large agglutinates from five different Apollo landing sites were performed, and the results are reported and discussed. Some agglutinates are found to contain remarkably homogeneous glass; these agglutinates tend to be optically homogeneous as well. Many of the more complex agglutinates contain glass domains that are relatively homogeneous but differ in composition from other domains in the same agglutinates. The variation in composition of different domains within a single agglutinate can exceed variation among average compositions of different agglutinates in a soil. The composition of individual glass domains is not generally on the line between the composition of a bulk soil and the composition of the finest size fractions of that soil. The average composition of all agglutinate domains in a soil lies close to that line and close to the composition of the finest fraction, in support of the F3 and similar models.

Basu, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chemical zoning and homogenization of Pasamonte-type pyroxene and their bearing on thermal metamorphism of a howardite parent body

The Mg-Fe zoning of pyroxenes in Pasamonte and Juvinas eucrites is examined in order to gain a better understanding of the metamorphism in the surface layer of a eucrite/howardite parent body. Three distinct types of Ca-Mg-Fe zoning of Pasamonte pyroxenes are identified. The wide compositional range of the zoned pyroxenes suggests that Pasamonte is less metamorphosed than previously believed. It is also found that a Pasamonte-type pyroxene may yield a Juvinas-type pyroxene by thermal metamorphism. Calculations imply that the homogenization of Juvinas pyroxenes may have occurred during later reheating events rather than during initial cooling.

Miyamoto, M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

XPS studies of water and oxygen on iron-sputtered natural ilmenite

The adsorption of D2O and O2 on polycrystalline FeTiO3 (natural ilmenite) has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Oxygen was found to absorb reactively with Fe(0) on Ar(+)-sputtered surfaces at and above 150 K while D2O was found to adsorb molecularly or in ice layers below 170 K on both Ar(+) and O2(+) ion-bombarded ilmenite. The D2O desorbs at 170 K with either the formation of an OD complex or a strongly bound molecular layer of water.

Schulze, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Examination of returned solar-max surfaces for impacting orbital debris and meteoroids

Previous theoretical studies predicted that in certain regions of earth orbit, the man-made earth orbiting debris environment will soon exceed the interplanetary meteoroid environment for sizes smaller than 1 cm. The surfaces returned from the repaired Solar Max Mission (SMM) by STS 41-C on April 12, 1984, offered an excellent opportunity to examine both the debris and meteoroid environments. To date, approximately 0.7 sq. met. of the thermal insulation and 0.05 sq. met of the aluminum louvers have been mapped by optical microscope for crater diameters larger than 40 microns. Craters larger in diameter than about 100 microns found on the initial 75 micron thick Kapton first sheet on the MEB (Main Electronics Box) blanket are actually holes and constitute perforations through that blanket. The following populations have been found to date in impact sites on these blankets: (1) meteoritic material; (2) thermal paint particles; (3) aluminum droplets; and (4) waste particles.

Kessler, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Analysis of micrometeorite material captured by the solar max satellite

A Solar Maximum satellite was retrieved and repaired after being subjected for four years and 55 days to impacts by micrometeorites and Earth-orbiting space debris. The chemical variety and physical condition of particles associated with two particular impact structures in the insulation blanket of the main electronics box are studied. A scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X ray analyzer was used to determine morphology and chemistry of impacted areas and associated particles. Some details are discussed.

Schramm, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Petrologic profile of Apollo 16 regolith at Station 4

The Apollo 16 double drive tube core 64001/2 (total depth about 60 cm) consists of four petrologic units based on the modal abundance of lithic, monomineralic, and other particles in the 20-500 micron size range of samples from 12 levels. Variation in the abundance of particles derived directly from bedrocks is low and the core soils probably represent only one set of source rocks. The chemical signature of an excessively high mare basalt component at about 42 cm correlates with an excess of regolith breccias, which may then be the physical carrier. The core soils as a whole show a systematic size-composition relationship that may be attributed to a large-scale macroscopic reworking and the consequent masking of any or all previous surface process related mixing event. However, on a much smaller scale (about 0.5 cm), individual soil layers seem to have evolved more via mixing than via in situ reworking.

Basu, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Petrologic comparisons of Cayley and Descartes on the basis of Apollo 16 soils from stations 4 and 11

Petrologic aspects of the Cayley and Descartes formations are reviewed in the light of new data on Apollo 16 soils. Specific comparison of the modal abundances of lithic fragments in drive tube sample 64001/2 from the slopes of Stone Mountain (station 4) and in soil 67941 from the North Ray Crater rim (station 11) shows that melt rocks, especially poikilitic rocks, are more abundant at station 4 than at station 11; the reverse is true for fragmental breccias. Such lithologic differences suggest that stations 4 and 11 do not belong to the same geologic formation. Metamorphosed breccias are pervasive in both the formations and may represent a local component that has been reworked and diluted as fresh materials were added. Lithologic compositions inferred from the study of soil samples are different from lithologic compositions inferred from the study of rake samples or breccia clasts. This difference may be related to a mixing of material of different grain size distributions. The petrology of soils at the Apollo 16 site may not accurately reflect original material associated with either the Descartes or the Cayley formation because of extensive mixing with local material.

Basu, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The chemistry of micrometeoroids (A0187-1)

The prime objective of this experiment is to obtain chemical analyses of a statistically significant number of micrometeoroids. These data will then be compared with the chemical composition of meteorites. Secondary objectives of the experiment relate to density, shape, mass frequency, and absolute flux of micrometeorids as deduced from detailed crater geometrics (depth) diameter, and plane shape, and number of total events observed.

Hoerz, F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Toward a complete inventory of stratospheric dust particles with implications and their classification

As the Earth travels about the Sun it continuously sweeps up material laying in its path. The material includes dust-sized fragments of the meteors, comets and asteroids that have passed by as well as much older particles from out between the stars. These grains first become caught in the mesosphere and then slowly pass down through the stratosphere and the troposphere, finally raining down upon the Earth's surface. In the stratosphere the cosmic dust particles encounter increasing amounts of contaminants from the Earth. At the highest reaches of Earth's atmosphere these contaminants consists mainly of dust from the most explosive volcanoes, rocket exhaust, and other manmade space debris. In the troposphere windborne particles and pollen become an increasingly larger fraction of the atmospheric dust load. An increased knowledge of the nature of cosmic particles is suggested.

Zolensky, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The production curve for agglutinates in planetary regoliths

Models for the production of agglutinates are developed that can be applied to the lunar surface or to any planetary or asteroidal body lacking an atmosphere. Models are developed using rate equations for progressively more complex situations and range from Model 1, which is a simple linear increase of agglutinate content with time, to Model 4, which includes provision for recycling of existing agglutinates and replenishment and burial of exposed soil. Model 4 has some aspects of a steady state because, depending on the rate constants, agglutinate content may be limited to an intermediate value, even for long exposure times. In an extreme case, agglutinate content may be limited to a value near zero. These models predict that agglutinates should be low in abundance in areas of thin regolith, such as the Lunokhod-2 site on the moon, and on asteroids. The models may also help explain the apparent low agglutinate abundances of lunar regolith breccias and meteorite regolith breccias.

Mckay, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Chemical weathering and diagenesis of a cold desert soil from Wright Valley, Antarctica - An analog of Martian weathering processes

Weathering, diagenesis, and chemical alteration of a soil profile from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica are investigated as an analog to soil development within the Martian regolith. Soil samples from a soil pit one meter deep on Prospect Mesa, Wright Valley, are examined for their major element concentrations, water-soluble cations and anions, carbon, sulfur, and water concentrations, and related petrographic characteristics of weathering in a cold, dry environment. A petrographic study of the samples suggests that most silicate mineral and lithic fragments exhibit some degree of alteration. Chemical alteration occurs both in samples above and within the permanently frozen zone. The concentrations of water-soluble cations, for example, Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), and anions, Cl(-), SO4(2-), NO3(-), are found to decrease significantly from the surface to the permanently frozen zone, suggesting a major movement of water-soluble species. It is also found that enrichments in secondary mineral abundances correlate with the water soluble ion concentrations. The formation of zeolites is seen throughout the soil column; these, it is thought, may be reservoirs for volatile storage within the regolith.

Gibson, E. K.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Regolith maturation on the earth and the moon with an example from Apollo 15

Petrographic data on twelve Apollo 15 surface samples and on twelve samples from the double drive tube 15010/011 are presented in the form of triangular AML (agglutinate-monomineralic fragments-lithic fragments) plots. The triangular AML plots for different grain sizes show smoothly varying contour lines only for the solids derived mainly from mare basalts. These contour lines are interpreted as lines of isomaturity. The AML plots with isomature contours are somewhat similar to QFR (quartz-feldspar-rock fragments) triangular plots used for terrestrial clastic sediments. Both kinds of plots are sensitive to maturity and both may be used to predict evolution paths. Soils from predominantly highland areas and from other mixed terrains at Apollo 15 sites do not make smooth contours on AML diagrams. By analogy with QFR diagrams, the lack of smooth contours may be due to mixed source rock families, or to recent mixing, or both.

Basu, A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Petrology of Apollo 15 station 9A surface and drive tube soils

Modal analysis data are presented for six samples from the upper part of the Apollo 15 lunar core 15010/011 in order to further investigate the maturation profile of the core and to estimate the source rock contribution. The core data are compared with those of the adjacent soils 15531 and 15601. The soils analyzed are relatively immature and remarkably homogeneous. Surface soil 15531 is the most immature one, which is attributed to the fact that it was sampled from the rim of a relatively recent 3 m-diameter crater and thus contains an admixture of fresh bedrock material ejected by this cratering event. The major source of rock contribution to the soils is from petrographically identifiable mare basalts (about 89% to the core and to 15601 and about 87% to 15531). Olivine basalts and quartz normative basalts occur in an approximate ratio of 3:1; contributions of KREEP basalts and the Front are relatively minor.

Griffiths, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Ferromagnetic resonance intensity - A rapid method for determining lunar glass bead origin

Ferromagnetic resonance intensity, I(s), relies on the absence or presence of single-domain Fe formed during impact melting by autoreduction of Fe(2+) in the melt to distinguish volcanic from impact glass spherules in the lunar soil. SEM inspection of individual glass bead surfaces gave reliable evidence of the mode of glass genesis. Ferromagnetic resonance intensity was tested against the Apollo 15 and 17 volcanics. I(s) values of less than one were found in 94% of the volcanic glasses, implying the absence of single-domain Fe, while 75% of the impact glasses had elevated I(s) values. These samples lack single-domain Fe, and may represent impact melts of bedrock with little or no regolith contribution. Both the primary discrimination of volcanic and impact glasses, and the secondary one of bedrock-derived impact melts from impact melts partially or entirely derived from regolith, have been demonstrated for the I(s) technique.

Stone, C. D.↗