Mineralogy and petrography of some Apollo 12 samples Final report
Analysis of lunar soil samples returned by Apollo 12 flight
Mason, B.↗
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Preliminary examination of lunar samples
Mineralogy and petrology of lunar rock and soil samples returned from Apollo 14 landing site
Source record↗
A study of system requirements for Phobos/Deimos missions. Volume 1: Summary
The technical feasibility of accomplishing a variety of cost-effective missions to the satellites of Mars were investigated. Three mission options were studied: a basic satellite rendezvous and landing mission, a satellite sample return mission, and a combination Mars landing and Phobos/Deimos exploration mission. Nominal science payloads and supporting subsystems were defined for each mission design. Configuration layouts, program schedules, and cost estimates were also developed for each option. Environmental criteria unique to the mission were developed. Supporting studies, research, and technology requirements were identified.
Source record↗
Chondrules in Apollo 14 samples - Implications for the origin of chondritic meteorites.
Chondrules have been observed in several breccia samples returned by the Apollo 14 mission. These lunar chondrules are believed to have formed during a large impact event, perhaps the one that formed the Imbrian Basin. This suggests that some meteoritic chondrules are also formed by impact processes such as crystallization after shock melting and abrasion and diffusion in base-surge and fall-back deposits generated by impacts on planetary surfaces.
King, E. A., Jr.↗
Multiple asteroid flyby opportunities in the 1970's and 1980's.
Trajectory characteristics are described for several representative multiple asteroid flyby (MAF) missions possible in the 1970's and early 1980's, many of which are constrained to include a flyby of Ceres, the largest asteroid. It is shown that flybys of three or four asteroids are possible with spacecraft having a delta-V capability of less than 1 km per sec. The major technical problems associated with MAF missions are due to the small size and poorly known orbits of aster oids. These factors make acquisition, guidance, and science measurements difficult, especially for the very small asteroids. Yet, MAF missions are expected to provide a significant increase in knowledge of basic properties of asteroids and to lay the groundwork for more sophisticated rendezvous and sample return missions.
Brooks, D. R.↗
Petrology of a portion of the Mare Fecunditatis regolith.
Extensive microprobe analyses have been made of pyroxenes, plagioclases, olivines, opaque minerals, and glasses in two 0.025 g lunar samples returned from the Luna 16 mission, with the aim to characterize the Mare Fecunditatis regolith. No major differences were found between the near surface soil horizon A and horizon D at approximately 30 cm depth. Resulting characteristics of the mineral examined are presented and discussed.
Jakes, P.↗
Lessons learned from a decade of international space cooperation.
A case history of the Alouette/ISIS series is presented, giving attention to aspects of U.S.-Canadian cooperation in this program. The project is only one example of a broad network of international cooperative relationships established by NASA over the past decade. Participation by other countries in important space science and applications projects is not limited to those providing flight hardware or conducting flight observations. Much valuable work is done on the ground, ranging from analysis in the laboratories of samples returned from the moon to correlated ground-based reception and analysis of radio beacon signals from satellites. It was found that cooperation is more likely to proceed smoothly and produce beneficial results if it is focused on projects that are clearly defined and agreed on in advance.
Barnes, R. J. H.↗
Lunar neutron stratigraphy.
Study of the isotopic composition of gadolinium and samarium in four soil and seven drill stem samples returned by the Apollo 15 mission. The results show the possibility to date sedimentary processes on the lunar surface for time scales of around 100 million years because of the particular dependence of neutron capture reactions on depth. The neutron flux has a distinct peak as a function of depth. This peak appears to lie below the level of shallow cratering for time scales of less than one billion years and consequently forms a readily identified marker layer of both depth and time.
Russ, G. P., III↗
Planetary Quarantine Annual Review, Space Technology and Research, July 1971 - July 1972
The effects of planetary quarantine constraints are assessed for advanced missions and unmanned planetary sample return missions. Considered are natural space environment factors, post launch recontamination effects, spacecraft microbial burden estimation and prediction, and spacecraft cleaning and decontamination techniques.
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Development of mass spectrometric techniques applicable to the search for organic matter in the lunar crust
Data processing techniques were developed to measure with high precision and sensitivity the line spectra produced by a high resolution mass spectrometer. The most important aspect of this phase was the interfacing of a modified precision microphotometer-comparator with a computer and the improvement of existing software to serve the special needs of the investigation of lunar samples. In addition, a gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer system was interfaced with the same computer to allow continuous recording of mass spectra on a gas chromatographic effluent and efficient evaluation of the resulting data. These techniques were then used to detect and identify organic compounds present in the samples returned by the Apollo 11 and 12 missions.
Biemann, K.↗
Apollo 17 Mission Report
Operational and engineering aspects of the Apollo 17 mission are outlined. The vehicle configuration was similar to those of Apollo 15 and 16. There were significant differences in the science payload for Apollo 17 and spacecraft hardware differences and experiment equipment are described. The mission achieved a landing in the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon and returned samples of the pre-Imbrium highlands and young craters.
MIssion Evaluation Team↗
Compositional data for twenty-one Fra Mauro lunar materials.
Major, minor, and trace element analyses are presented for two igneous rocks, six breccias, four microbreccias, two breccia clasts, and six soils, as well as a sample of sawdust from rock 14066. Evaluation of the data suggests that the samples from the Fra Mauro highlands have the same nonterrestrial characteristics shown previously by the samples returned from the mare regions by Apollo 11 and 12 - namely, a high refractory element content, a lower volatile element content, and an excess reducing capacity above that due to FeO. The Fra Mauro soils have higher concentrations of Al2O3, Na2O, and K2O and lower amounts of FeO and TiO2 than do the mare soils. They also show a bimodal distribution of Ni, B, and Nb. The highland breccias are richer in SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, Na2O, and K2O than those returned from the mare lowlands. FeO, TiO2, and MnO are lower in concentration at Fra Mauro, and the highland breccias are more complex mineralogically than those collected previously.
Rose, H. J., Jr.↗
Remanent magnetization of the lunar surface.
Two lines of evidence support each other in suggesting that a large volume of the rocks near the lunar surface possess a uniform remanent magnetization with an intensity of about .000002 emu/g. The first line is the discovery by several groups of investigators of weak but stable remanent magnetizations in igneous samples returned from the first four Apollo missions. Although the mechanism of acquisition of this remanence has not been definitely established, several lines of evidence, including thermal demagnetization, suggest that it is a thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) carried by iron. Many of the breccias are similarly magnetized. The second line is the measurement of significant fields at the Apollo sites and the discovery of large-scale anomalies by the sub-satellite magnetometer experiment.
Pearce, G. W.↗
Apollo lunar orbital science.
The Apollo 15 and 16 experiments are discussed. The formal scientific experiments conducted in lunar orbit are listed in an appendix. The gamma ray spectrometer performed a compositional survey of the upper 30 cm of the lunar surface by observing the gamma rays emitted during the radioactive decay of naturally occurring radioisotopes and their daughter products, and of the radioisotopes produced by cosmic ray bombardment of lunar surface materials. The results from the Apollo 15 X-ray spectrometer have shown excellent correlation between returned samples and gross lunar features. The various systems and experiments are described in detail.
Roberson, F. I.↗
Soil mechanics
The soil mechanics experiment on the Apollo 17 mission to the Taurus-Littrow area of the moon is discussed. The objectives of the experiment were to determine the physical characteristics and mechanical properties of the lunar soil at the surface and subsurface in lateral directions. Data obtained on the lunar surface in conjunction with observations of returned samples of lunar soil are used to determine in-place density and porosity profiles and to determine strength characteristics on local and regional scales.
Mitchell, J. K.↗
Lunar Science Conference, 4th, Houston, Tex., March 5-8, 1973, Proceedings. Volume 1 - Mineralogy and petrology. Volume 2 - Chemical and isotope analyses. Organic chemistry. Volume 3 - Physical properties
The mineralogy, petrology, chemistry, isotopic composition, and physical properties of lunar materials are described in papers detailing methods, results, and implications of research on samples returned from eight lunar landing sites: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, and Luna 16 and 20. The results of experiments conducted or set up on the lunar surface by the astronauts are also described along with observations taken from Command Modules and subsatellites. Major topics include general geology, soil and breccia studies, petrologic studies, mineralogic analyses, elemental compositions, radiometric age determinations, rare gas chemistry, radionuclides, organogenic compounds, particle track records, thermal properties, seismic studies, resonance studies, orbital mapping, lunar atmosphere, magnetic studies, electrical studies, optical properties, and microcratering. Individual items are announced in this issue.
Gose, W. A.↗
Electron paramagnetic resonance of several lunar rock samples
The results are presented of investigating lunar rock samples returned by the Luna 16 automatic station, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The EPR technique makes it possible to detect paramagnetic centers and investigate their nature, with high sensitivity. Regolith (finely dispersed material) and five particles from it, 0.3 mm in size, consisting mostly of olivine, were investigated with EPR.
Marov, P. N.↗
Radiation damage and structure recorded at high resolution in grains from fine fractions of Luna 16 surface material
Samples returned to earth by Luna 16, were studied with a high voltage electron microscope for ultramicroscopic features. The following amazing features were noted in particles of surface material returned in all the lunar trips: A very high density of tracks of nuclear particles, ultrathin amorphous shells, highly rounded forms, and amazingly good ordering of crystal lattice. These features were used along with calibration experiments in solving the following problems: (1) determining the energy spectrum and chemical abundances of the very heavy nuclei in the solar wind and in the solar cosmic rays; (2) studying the past activity of the sun; (3) obtaining data on lunar dynamic processes affecting dust particles; (4) analyzing composite effects caused by penetration of solar wind into the lunar surface material; and (5) establishing the existence of the ancient lunar atmosphere and magnetic field.
Durrieu, L.↗