Pristine lunar glasses - Criteria, data, and implications

Abstract

The examination of glasses from all of the Apollo landing sites has led to the identification of 25 groups of pristine glass. The nickel found in these glasses is shown to be indigenous, not meteoritic contamination, and to be correlated with Mg. Chemical data indicate that these glasses are more suitable for primary magma than most crystalline mare basalts. In addition, these pristine glasses support the view that assimilative processes involving two cumulative systems in the differentiated mantle operated during mare petrogenesis. Two linear arrays found among the chemistries of the glasses attest to the existence of these interactions. Data suggest that these cumulate components in the mantle continue for 1000 km (laterally) and therefore are likely to be products of a magma ocean that existed early in lunar history.