Dayana Chavez Kat Dominguez Christina Riou Carlos Vasquez Jacob Zamarripa Jorge Zertuche
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Objective
By gathering data from the Apollo 17 missions and learning the process of crater counting, we collected data and produced a record of the various ages of specific features and areas on our lunar satellite. Through our own exploration and research we have created a chronological map and timeline of the moon near the Apollo 17 traverse.
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17
Apollo 17 Launched: 7 December 1972 Landed on Moon: 11 December 1972 Landing Site: Taurus-Littrow Returned to Earth: 19 December 1972
Commander: Eugene Cernan Command Module Pilot: Ronald Evans Lunar Module Pilot: Harrison “Jack” Schmitt
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Full View of Earth’s Moon General Area of Landing Site Exactly Where Apollo 17 Landed
20.19° N, 30.76° E Apollo Landing Site Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svk3tXsibN U
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Radiogenic Dating
It is a technique used to date materials through the comparison of half lives of radioactive ions
It is the principal source of information about the absolute age of rocks and other geological features.
Among the best-known techniques are radiocarbon dating, KAr dating and ULb dating.
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Chart of common half life pairs.
Parent/ Daughter Half-Life
Uranium 238/ Lead 206 4.5 Billion Years
Uranium 235/ Lead 207 0.7 Billion Years
Potassium 40/ Argon 40 1.3 Billion Years
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Crater Counting Process
Find the area of the image Count the craters while grouping them based on diameter Find each group’s crater density per 1,000,000 km^2 y Number of Craters * 1,000,000 [km^2]/image size [km^2] Plot your data on the corresponding graph to find the relative age
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 landing site Western region
Image Size y 15.11 km^2 Crater Count y <2km ~130 Crater Density y ~ 8.5 million Central Region
Image Size y 7.67 km^2 Crater Count y <2km ~160 Crater Density y ~ 21 million Northern Region
Image Size y 9.72 km^2 Crater Count y <2km ~150 Crater Density y ~ 15.5 million Radiogenic v. Crater Counting
Varies from 3.4 - All areas range 4.2 billion years between 3.7 - 4.0 depending on site billion years Precise Relative Data from Sample Data based on images Crater Counting Conclusion
First Glance y Should be older y Youngest areas look older then the older areas Zoomed Out y The traverse is in a relatively new area of the moon y Craters shown are most likely secondary craters or ejectas What We’ll Let You Know
Age Exposure Age Lithology Size Weight Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 Oldest 4 Billion years 3.9 Billion years 3.8 Billion years 3.7 Billion Years Youngest 78480 78155 77215 76055 77115 76015 73255 73235 72435 74275 70255 72215 70017 79155 75035 75055 74220 70035 71037 71055
3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4 4.1 4.2 Billion Years Billion Years Billion Years Billion Years Billion Years Billion Years Billion Years
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Sample 71037 Ilmenite Basalt
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 Youngest Sample 74220 Orange Soil
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.7 billion years Sample 79155 Shocked Basalt
BOTTOM TOP
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.8 billion years STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Sample 77115 Impact Melt Breccia
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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4 5
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.9 billion years Sample 70017 Ilmenite Basalt
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
9
4 5
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.8 billion years Sample 70255 Ilmenite Basalt
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
9
4 5
3
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Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.8 billion years Sample 72215 Aphanitic Impact Melt Breccia
Location
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Apollo 17 Traverse
6 7 8
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4 5
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1
Scale- 1:25,000 Kilometers 2 ~ 3.8 billion years What we’ve learned
There are two ways to measure the age of the moon Radiogenic Dating is the more accurate of the two and compares the decay of ions Crater counting is used to compare different regions of the lunar surface to find the relative ages Like on Earth, there are different types of rocks formed on the moon The Apollo 17 mission was the first to include a scientist in order to gain the most from the samples collected
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Thank you!
We would like to thank everyone who has helped with our research and let us use their resources NASA LPI The Smithsonian Institute Dr. Gary Dr. Shaner Mr. Henry Mrs. McCool
STEM Academy at Robert E. Lee High School Credits
http://www.nasa.gov/ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/ http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/s olontoi/BCC/CraterCount.pdf