Nature and Distribution of Pyroclastic Glasses at Taurus-Littrow
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Radar Remote Sensing of Pyroclastic Deposits in the Southern Mare Serenitatis and Mare Vaporum Regions of the Moon Lynn M
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 114, E11004, doi:10.1029/2009JE003406, 2009 Click Here for Full Article Radar remote sensing of pyroclastic deposits in the southern Mare Serenitatis and Mare Vaporum regions of the Moon Lynn M. Carter,1 Bruce A. Campbell,1 B. Ray Hawke,2 Donald B. Campbell,3 and Michael C. Nolan4 Received 21 April 2009; revised 12 July 2009; accepted 3 August 2009; published 5 November 2009. [1] We use polarimetric radar observations to study the distribution, depth, and embedded rock abundance of nearside lunar pyroclastic deposits. Radar images were obtained for Mare Vaporum and the southern half of Mare Serenitatis; the imaged areas contain the large Rima Bode, Mare Vaporum, Sulpicius Gallus, and Taurus-Littrow pyroclastic deposits. Potential pyroclastic deposits at Rima Hyginus crater, the Tacquet Formation, and a dome in Mare Vaporum are also included. Data were acquired at S band (12.6 cm wavelength) using Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope in a bistatic configuration. The S band images have resolutions between 20 and 100 m/pixel. The pyroclastic deposits appear dark to the radar and have low circular polarization ratios at S band wavelengths because they are smooth, easily penetrable by radar waves, and generally contain few embedded blocks. Changes in circular polarization ratio (CPR) across some of the pyroclastic deposits show areas with increased rock abundance as well as deposits that are shallower. Radar backscatter and CPR maps are used to identify fine-grained mantling deposits in cases where optical and near-infrared data are ambiguous about the presence of pyroclastics. -
October 2006
OCTOBER 2 0 0 6 �������������� http://www.universetoday.com �������������� TAMMY PLOTNER WITH JEFF BARBOUR 283 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1 In 1897, the world’s largest refractor (40”) debuted at the University of Chica- go’s Yerkes Observatory. Also today in 1958, NASA was established by an act of Congress. More? In 1962, the 300-foot radio telescope of the National Ra- dio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) went live at Green Bank, West Virginia. It held place as the world’s second largest radio scope until it collapsed in 1988. Tonight let’s visit with an old lunar favorite. Easily seen in binoculars, the hexagonal walled plain of Albategnius ap- pears near the terminator about one-third the way north of the south limb. Look north of Albategnius for even larger and more ancient Hipparchus giving an almost “figure 8” view in binoculars. Between Hipparchus and Albategnius to the east are mid-sized craters Halley and Hind. Note the curious ALBATEGNIUS AND HIPPARCHUS ON THE relationship between impact crater Klein on Albategnius’ southwestern wall and TERMINATOR CREDIT: ROGER WARNER that of crater Horrocks on the northeastern wall of Hipparchus. Now let’s power up and “crater hop”... Just northwest of Hipparchus’ wall are the beginnings of the Sinus Medii area. Look for the deep imprint of Seeliger - named for a Dutch astronomer. Due north of Hipparchus is Rhaeticus, and here’s where things really get interesting. If the terminator has progressed far enough, you might spot tiny Blagg and Bruce to its west, the rough location of the Surveyor 4 and Surveyor 6 landing area. -
Glossary of Lunar Terminology
Glossary of Lunar Terminology albedo A measure of the reflectivity of the Moon's gabbro A coarse crystalline rock, often found in the visible surface. The Moon's albedo averages 0.07, which lunar highlands, containing plagioclase and pyroxene. means that its surface reflects, on average, 7% of the Anorthositic gabbros contain 65-78% calcium feldspar. light falling on it. gardening The process by which the Moon's surface is anorthosite A coarse-grained rock, largely composed of mixed with deeper layers, mainly as a result of meteor calcium feldspar, common on the Moon. itic bombardment. basalt A type of fine-grained volcanic rock containing ghost crater (ruined crater) The faint outline that remains the minerals pyroxene and plagioclase (calcium of a lunar crater that has been largely erased by some feldspar). Mare basalts are rich in iron and titanium, later action, usually lava flooding. while highland basalts are high in aluminum. glacis A gently sloping bank; an old term for the outer breccia A rock composed of a matrix oflarger, angular slope of a crater's walls. stony fragments and a finer, binding component. graben A sunken area between faults. caldera A type of volcanic crater formed primarily by a highlands The Moon's lighter-colored regions, which sinking of its floor rather than by the ejection of lava. are higher than their surroundings and thus not central peak A mountainous landform at or near the covered by dark lavas. Most highland features are the center of certain lunar craters, possibly formed by an rims or central peaks of impact sites. -
UN I TED STATES DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR Center Of
IN REPLY REFER TO: UN I TED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Center of Astrogeology 601 East Cedar Avenue Flagsta.ff, Arizona 86001 November 30, 1971 Memorar1dum To Noel Hinr~ers, Chairman, ad hoc Site Selection Group, A,p_ollo 17 From William R. Muehlberger, Principal Investigator, s~059 Apoll~ Field Geology Investigations Subject: Candidate Apollo 17 landing sites The attached memorandum presents a summary of the recommen_ded sites for Apoilo 17'by. the.photogeologic mappers of the U.S. Geol6gical Survey and my group of Co-investigator's. Please consider this as our basic input to.your ad hoc site selection. group. You will note thaf Alphousus is third on our list--actually it is on the list only because it had b~en a candidate site for Apollo 17 }' c during the Apollo 16 deliberations. None of our group voted for it as their first choice in the slate of three sites herein presented. Littrow highlands was a bare majority over Gassendi; we would be pleased with either side for the Apollo 17 landing site. if·there is further information that we can contribute to your deliberations, please let me know and I'll get it to you. c .. "' . November 30, 1971 ·'· o. APOLLO FIELD GEOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS (S-059) EXPERIMENT GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APOLLO 17 LANDING SITES R<~;tionale a11c1 Recommemdations ·, Rationale The Apollo 17 mi·ssion to the moon will be 'the culmination and must provide the optim~l realization of the first stage of.man's sci"entific exp-loration of the moon. Our knowle·dge of the maori derived from the preceding Apollo mi~sions has grown with sufficient order~iness and comprehensiveness to indicate unambiguously that the m.a'jor unexplored region. -
Rethinking Lunar Mare Basalt Regolith Formation: 4 New Concepts of Lava Flow Protolith 5 and 6 Evolution of Regolith Thickness and Internal Structure 7 8 James W
1 1 2 3 Rethinking Lunar Mare Basalt Regolith Formation: 4 New Concepts of Lava Flow Protolith 5 and 6 Evolution of Regolith Thickness and Internal Structure 7 8 James W. Head1 and Lionel Wilson2,1 9 10 1Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science, 11 Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 USA. 12 13 2Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ UK 14 15 Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters 16 #2020GL088334 17 April 9, 2020 18 Revised September 21, 2020 19 20 21 Abstract: Lunar mare regolith is traditionally thought to have formed by impact bombardment 22 of newly emplaced coherent solidified basaltic lava. We use new models for initial 23 emplacement of basalt magma to predict and map out thicknesses, surface topographies and 24 internal structures of the fresh lava flows and pyroclastic deposits that form the lunar mare 25 regolith parent rock, or protolith. The range of basaltic eruption types produce widely varying 26 initial conditions for regolith protolith, including 1) “auto-regolith”, a fragmental meters-thick 27 surface deposit that forms upon eruption and mimics impact-generated regolith in physical 28 properties, 2) lava flows with significant near-surface vesicularity and macro-porosity, 3) 29 magmatic foams, and 4) dense, vesicle-poor flows. Each protolith has important implications for 30 the subsequent growth, maturation and regional variability of regolith deposits, suggesting 31 wide spatial variations in the properties and thickness of regolith of similar age. Regolith may 32 thus provide key insights into mare basalt protolith and its mode of emplacement. 33 34 Plain Language Summary: Following recent studies of how lava eruptions are emplaced on the 35 lunar surface, we show that solid basalt is only one of a wide range of starting conditions in the 36 process of forming lunar soil (regolith). -
Minutes of the Apollo Site Selection Board Meeting May 7, 1970
•• 1 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546 REPLY TO ATTN OF: MAY 2 5 1970 , TO Distribution FROM MA/Apollo Program Director SUBJECT: Apollo Site Selection Board Minutes of Meeting Attached are the minutes of the Apollo Site Selection Board meeting held on May 7, 1970. Distribution: MSC/PA/Col. McDivitt FA/Mr. Sjoberg TA/Mr. Calio TA/Dr. S1nnnons CA/Mr. Slayton AC/Mr. Johnston FM7/Mr. Cassetti PD/Mr. Perrine TJ!Mr. Sasser PD/Mr. Zarcaro KSC/AP/Mr. Mathews MSFC/I -MO-MGR/Dr. Speer PM-SAT-MGR/Mr. Smith Bellcomm/Dr. James Dr. Hinners Mr. Boysen Mr. El Baz Hqs/MA/Capt. Lee MO/Gen. Stevenson MAO/Capt. Holcomb MAL/Capt. Scherer INDEXING DATA SIGNATOR LOC T PGM SUBJECT --'" DATE # .Q.E!l (MM-<x) I R -u; X. 0',>,;15-)6 w·:, , . .. MINUTES OF THE APOLLO SITE SELECTION BOARD MEETING Held at the Manned Spacecraft Center May 7, 1970 The Apollo Site Selection Board met at MSC (see 1) to select the site for Apollo 14 and consider fhe site selection plans for Apollo 15 and 16. Mr. A. Calio reported on the Group for Lunar Ex- ploration Planning (GLEP) Meeting held on 30, 1970. The GLEP group was near unanimous (one vote,i·.for Li ttrow) to reprogram the site for Apollo 14 from Li.ttrow to the Apollo 13 target ofFra Mauro (see Attachment 2, letter from TA to PA for the detailed rationale and discussion). The GLEP group also recommended that, of the available sites for Apollo 15 viz Davy, Littrow, Censorinus, plus some consideration of the J sites Descartes, Copernicus, Marius Hills, and Hadley, Davy should be prime for Apollo 15. -
Apollo 17 Lunar Photography
DATA USERS NOTE APOLLO 17 LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHY December 1974 (NASAiTM-X-7 2 5 35 ) DATA USERS NOTE: 6p75-1467 APOLLO 17 LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHY (NASA) 69 P HC $4.25 CSCL 03BUnclas G3/91 07216 NATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE DAT C~ TE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION - GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CE7B4 R~G~Et T. NSSDC 74-08 DATA USERS NOTE APOLLO 17 LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHY by Winifred Sawtell Cameron;' Frederick J. Doyle; 2 Leon Levenson, Kenneth Michlovitz 3 National Space Science Data Center Goddard Space Flight Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 December 1974 1 National Space Science Data Center 2 United States Geological Survey 3 PMI Facilities Management Corporation PREFACE The purposes of this data users note are to announce the avail- ability of Apollo 17 pictorial data and to aid an investigator in the selection of Apollo 17 photographs for study. As background informa- tion, the note includes a brief description of the Apollo 17 mission and mission objectives. The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) can provide photographic and supporting data as described in the section on Description of Photographic Objectives, Equipment, and Available Data. The section also includes descriptions of all photographic equipment used during the mission. The availability of any data received by NSSDC after publication of this note will be announced by NSSDC in a data announcement bulletin. NSSDC will provide data and information upon request directly to any individual or organization resident in the United States and, through the World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites (WDC-A-R&S), to scientists outside the United States. -
Lunar 1000 Challenge List
LUNAR 1000 CHALLENGE A B C D E F G H I LUNAR PROGRAM BOOKLET LOG 1 LUNAR OBJECT LAT LONG OBJECTIVE RUKL DATE VIEWED BOOK PAGE NOTES 2 Abbot 5.6 54.8 37 3 Abel -34.6 85.8 69, IV Libration object 4 Abenezra -21.0 11.9 55 56 5 Abetti 19.9 27.7 24 6 Abulfeda -13.8 13.9 54 45 7 Acosta -5.6 60.1 49 8 Adams -31.9 68.2 69 9 Aepinus 88.0 -109.7 Libration object 10 Agatharchides -19.8 -30.9 113 52 11 Agrippa 4.1 10.5 61 34 12 Airy -18.1 5.7 63 55, 56 13 Al-Bakri 14.3 20.2 35 14 Albategnius -11.2 4.1 66 44, 45 15 Al-Biruni 17.9 92.5 III Libration object 16 Aldrin 1.4 22.1 44 35 17 Alexander 40.3 13.5 13 18 Alfraganus -5.4 19.0 46 19 Alhazen 15.9 71.8 27 20 Aliacensis -30.6 5.2 67 55, 65 21 Almanon -16.8 15.2 55 56 22 Al-Marrakushi -10.4 55.8 48 23 Alpetragius -16.0 -4.5 74 55 24 Alphonsus -13.4 -2.8 75 44, 55 25 Ameghino 3.3 57.0 38 26 Ammonius -8.5 -0.8 75 44 27 Amontons -5.3 46.8 48 28 Amundsen -84.5 82.8 73, 74, V Libration object 29 Anaxagoras 73.4 -10.1 76 4 30 Anaximander 66.9 -51.3 2 31 Anaximenes 72.5 -44.5 3 32 Andel -10.4 12.4 45 33 Andersson -49.7 -95.3 VI Libration object 34 Angstrom 29.9 -41.6 19 35 Ansgarius -12.7 79.7 49, IV Libration object 36 Anuchin -49.0 101.3 V Libration object 37 Anville 1.9 49.5 37 38 Apianus -26.9 7.9 55 56 39 Apollonius 4.5 61.1 2 38 40 Arago 6.2 21.4 44 35 41 Aratus 23.6 4.5 22 42 Archimedes 29.7 -4.0 78 22, 12 43 Archytas 58.7 5.0 76 4 44 Argelander -16.5 5.8 63 56 45 Ariadaeus 4.6 17.3 35 46 Aristarchus 23.7 -47.4 122 18 47 Aristillus 33.9 1.2 69 12 48 Aristoteles 50.2 17.4 48 5 49 Armstrong 1.4 25.0 44 -
Apollo 17 Regolith, 71501,262: a Record of Impact Events and Mare Volcanism in Lunar Glasses
Apollo 17 regolith, 71501,262: A record of impact events and mare volcanism in lunar glasses Item Type Article; text Authors Zellner, N. E. B.; Delano, J. W.; Swindle, T. D.; Barra, F.; Olsen, E.; Whittet, D. C. B. Citation Zellner, N. E. B., Delano, J. W., Swindle, T. D., Barra, F., Olsen, E., & Whittet, D. C. B. (2009). Apollo 17 regolith, 71501, 262: a record of impact events and mare volcanism in lunar glasses. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 44(6), 839-851. DOI 10.1111/j.1945-5100.2009.tb00772.x Publisher The Meteoritical Society Journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science Rights Copyright © The Meteoritical Society Download date 25/09/2021 22:22:27 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final published version Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/656579 Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44, Nr 6, 839–851 (2009) Abstract available online at http://meteoritics.org Apollo 17 regolith, 71501,262: A record of impact events and mare volcanism in lunar glasses N. E. B. ZELLNER1, J. W. DELANO2, T. D. SWINDLE3, F. BARRA4, 5, E. OLSEN3, and D. C. B. WHITTET6 1Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, Michigan 49224, USA 2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University at Albany (SUNY), Albany, New York 12222, USA 3Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA 4Geosciences Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA 5Instituto de Geologia Economica Aplicada, Universidad de Concepcion, Chile 6New York Center for Astrobiology and Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA *Corresponding author. -
And Tensional Faulting in the Taurus-Littrow Area, Younger Illustrations: Figure 236
188 GEOLOGIC INVESTIGAT'ION OF THE TAURUS-LITTROW VALLEY: APOLLO 17 LANDING SITE Location: About 200 m north-northwest of Sherlock crater. and tensional faulting in the Taurus-Littrow area, younger Illustrations: Figure 236. basalts were extruded to the west within Mare Serenitatis (pl. Comments: Sample is regolith material of the cluster ejecta. 1). During approximately the last 3.5 b.y., since deposition of Petrograhic descriptions: 70320-24, dominantly basalt and breccia the volcanic ash, continued bombardment by meteorites and fragments with some glass and agglutinates. secondary projectiles has produced a thick regolith. Relatively late in this interval, the Lee-Lincoln fault scarp resulted from GEOLOGIC SYNTHESIS structural adjustments. About 100 m.y. ago a swam of GENERAL SETTING AND HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK secondary projectiles from Tycho formed the large cluster of craters east and south of the landing point (pl. 2); when the The geologic setting and stratigraphic framework, Tycho projectiles struck the north face of the South Massif, interpreted after the Apollo 17 mission, have been discussed in they mobilized fine-grained regolith material, which was several previous papers (Muehlberger and others, 1973; redeposited on the valley floor as the light mantle. Small Apollo Field Geology Investigation Team, 1973; Reed and extensional faults cut the light mantle (pl. 2). Wolfe, 1975; Wolfe and others, 1975; Wolfe and Reed, 1976). These are recapitulated and amplified in the following pages SOU'T'HERN SERENITATS BASIN largely without further citation. STRUCTURE On the basis of orbital gravity data (Sjogren and others, Briefly, we envision the massifs as the upper part of thick 1974a) and geologic interpretation, Scott (1974) suggested that ejecta deposited on the rim of the transient cavity of the large two basins underlie Mare Serenitatis. -
The Late Heavy Bombardment and Lunar Impact Glasses: a Love Story
Zellner 1 Cataclysm no more: New views on the timing and delivery of lunar impactors1 Nicolle E. B. Zellner Department of Physics, Albion College 611 E. Porter St., Albion, MI 49224 [email protected] To appear in Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (Manuscript #ORIG-D-16-00054R2, DOI: 10.1007/s11084-017-9536-3) Abstract: If properly interpreted, the impact record of the Moon, Earth’s nearest neighbour, can be used to gain insights into how the Earth has been influenced by impacting events since its formation ~4.5 billion years (Ga) ago. However, the nature and timing of the lunar impactors – and indeed the lunar impact record itself – are not well understood. Of particular interest are the ages of lunar impact basins and what they tell us about the proposed “lunar cataclysm” and/or the late heavy bombardment (LHB), and how this impact episode may have affected early life on Earth or other planets. Investigations of the lunar impactor population over time have been undertaken and include analyses of orbital data and images; lunar, terrestrial, and other planetary sample data; and dynamical modelling. Here, the existing information regarding the nature of the lunar impact record is reviewed and new interpretations are presented. Importantly, it is demonstrated that most evidence supports a prolonged lunar (and thus, terrestrial) bombardment from ~4.2 to 3.4 Ga and not a cataclysmic spike at ~3.9 Ga. Implications for the conditions required for the origin of life are addressed. Keywords: origin of life, astrobiology, impact flux, lunar samples, cataclysm, LHB 1 NEBZ fondly acknowledges and remembers Dr. -
New Crater Calibrations for the Lunar Crater-Age Chronology
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 403 (2014) 188–198 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth and Planetary Science Letters www.elsevier.com/locate/epsl New crater calibrations for the lunar crater-age chronology Stuart J. Robbins Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3665 Discovery Dr., Boulder, CO 80309, United States a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Measuring the spatial density of craters emplaced on geologic units is the primary method used for Received 14 May 2013 remotely estimating ages of solar system surfaces. The calibration for this method, which enables Received in revised form 13 June 2014 conversion of crater density to absolute age, comes from Apollo and Luna lunar samples for which Accepted 24 June 2014 absolute radiometric ages have been determined. Researchers throughout the 1970s worked to establish Available online 21 July 2014 the lunar chronology system based on that calibration, correlating crater densities with absolute ages. Editor: C. Sotin However, no uniform crater study has been conducted on all calibration terrains, a limitation that was Keywords: previously unaddressed until this study. The latest lunar images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Moon were used here to re-map the eleven main sampling sites and new crater counts of those surfaces craters were conducted. These show significant differences for many sites’ crater counts, in many cases having lunar chronology more craters than previously identified. These results, calibrated to the radiometric ages, show a revised lunar history lunar crater chronology that changes previously established crater-based ages by up about 1 billion years: Surfaces younger than ∼3.6Gyrand older than ∼3.9Gyrunder the classic chronology are younger in this system, and those in-between are older in this new system.