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Lunar Prospector's Mother Lode in This Issue LUNAR NEWS No. 64 December 1999 In This Issue: Stepping Stones: The Lunar News Mission Statement 2 Preparing for the Phone Numbers 2 Future New Chief Scientist 2 see page 6 Curator's Comments 3 New Views of the Moon II 4 Lunar Meet the Staff! 5 Prospector's Mother Lode Astromaterials at JSC: Preparing for the Future 6 see page 13 New Educational Disks 7 "Not So Pristine" Samples Useful 14 Lunar Samples Curator Celebrates Apollo 11 15 How to Request Lunar Samples 16 Sample Request Deadline - Mar. 3, 2000 CAPTEM Meeting - Mar. 17-19, 2000 Lunar News 1 Lunar News Mission The purpose of "Lunar News" is to provide a newsletter forum for facts and opinions about lunar sample studies, lunar geoscience, and the significance of the Moon in solar system exploration. Editor's Notes "Lunar News" is published by the Planetary Missions and Materials Branch, Earth Science & Solar System Exploration Division, Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is sent free to all interested individuals. To be included on the mailing list, write to the address below. Please send to the same address any comments on "Lunar News" or suggestions for new articles. Planetary Missions and Materials Branch Phone Numbers New Lunar News Editor Chief Scientist Andrea Mosie ........................................................ (281) 483-5769 Carl B. Agee is the new Chief Newsletter Design and Production Scientist for Astromaterials and Lisa Prejean ........................................................... (281) 483-5125 Lunar Samples the Acting Astromaterials Gary Lofgren ......................................................... (281) 483-6187 Curator at NASA Johnson Space Messages and General Information Center (JSC). His major areas of Suzanne Summers ................................................. (281) 483-5033 interest are origin and evolution Antarctic Meteorites of solar system bodies with Marilyn Lindstrom ................................................ (281) 483-5135 specific interests in Cosmic Dust and LDEF astromaterials, high pressure Mike Zolensky ...................................................... (281) 483-5128 mineral and magma physics, Loan Agreements and Records Materials science, curation and Dale Browne .......................................................... (281) 483-5132 quarantine of extraterrestrial Technical Operations Vacant ................................................................... (281) 483-5331 samples, and experimental Contamination Control petrology. Dave Lindstrom ..................................................... (281) 483-5012 Planetary Mission Science Payloads Carl received his B.A. with High Wendell Mendell .................................................. (281) 483-5064 Honors in Geology (1984) from Chuck Meyer ......................................................... (281) 483-5133 the University of California at Eileen Stansbery .................................................... (281) 483-5540 Berkeley. His honors thesis was “Experimental biotization of hornblende.” Attending Colum- Mailing Address: SN2 Lunar Sample Curator, NASA bia University in New York City, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058-3696 USA NY, he received his M.A. Electronic Mail: [email protected] (1986), M.Phil. (1988), and his Ph.D. (1988) in Geological Sci- FAX: 281-483-5347 ences. His dissertation was titled continued on page 3 2 Lunar News Curator's continued from page 2 “Experimental phase density Comments and mass balance constraints Gary Lofgren on early differentiation of chon- NASA JSC dritic mantle.” He served as a visiting scientist at Bayerisches Geoinstitut from 1988-1990, as a faculty member at Harvard University from 1990-1998 and is presently a Senior Staff mem- This has been a notable year ber at JSC. He Co-Chaired the that has seen the preparations Lunar and Planetary Science for the next sample return mission. These preparations include the first ever Conference in March 1999. Carl modification of the lunar facility. The new facility includes 2 class 10 clean has received the F.W. Clarke rooms that will be used to mount the sampling surfaces in the Genesis payload Medal, “For original research and then process the returned samples. These modifications have, however, on mantle differentiation,” the delayed the current round of lunar sample allocations and, for that, we John L. Loeb Associate Profes- apologize. Those allocations are nearly complete. sor Endowment, the Milton Fund Research Award from Requests for lunar samples for scientific study remain strong. We have sent Harvard University, and the P.H. out 312 samples from the last round of allocations in March. Requests for Hearst Distinguished Lecturer lunar samples have taken a new turn. As we look forward to the return of Award at U.C. in Berkeley. samples from Mars, many questions have arisen about how to maintain the organic cleanliness of these samples. One test of the process is to determine Carl has many professional how well we have maintained the organic cleanliness of existing lunar memberships. Some of them samples. We have allocated the first samples that will look at that issue. Note include the Geochemical Soci- that the next round of sample requests are due in Houston on the 3rd of March, 2000 for the CAPTEM meeting later that same month. We are preparing ety, the AGU service (member lunar samples for long-term displays at the Western Australian Museum in of Mineral and Rock Physics Perth and the University of Colorado Heritage Center in Boulder. Because Committee 1996-2000) and the demand for educational samples remains strong, we have prepared Editor (Solid Earth and Planets) another 30 lunar disks, those plastic disks with several samples enclosed in for Geophysical Research Let- them, for use by the various NASA centers for distribution to schools. ters 1997-2000. The second conference “New views of the Moon II, Understanding the Moon Carl can be contacted by e-mail Through the Integration of Diverse Datasets” took place in Flagstaff, at [email protected] or Arizona. This conference laid the groundwork for the analysis of the new by fax at 281-244-8892. data from the Prospector and Clementine Missions. Speaking of Prospector, the mission was completed July 31, 1999 with a final experiment, an attempt to record evidence for water vapor associated with the impact of the space craft near the south pole of the moon. The effort did not appear to be successful. An Apollo 11 basalt was presented to the White House for long term display by the Apollo 11 Crew, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins on July 20th as part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the mission. As part of the 30th anniversary we have been busy in the laboratory showing off the moon rocks to the interested media who have been filming material for a number of programs. Many of these programs are more than news releases and you may see them on the more science oriented networks in the future. Lunar News 3 New Views of the Moon II by Wendell Mendell NASA-JSC The planetary sample advisory and near infrared wavelengths. tent of the neutron data. For committee to NASA, CAPTEM, The detected ensemble of re- example, Feldman intended to has undertaken the Lunar Initia- flected photons have touched register global iron maps of the tive, a project designed to re- surfaces only two or three grains Moon derived from neutron data fresh and revitalize lunar sci- deep on the Moon. Therefore, with global iron maps derived ence studies. To this end, they while such data can be collected by Paul Lucey from spectral have sponsored two workshops from regions all over the planet, data. Pam Clark pointed out under the title, New Views of the information (like beauty) is (forcefully) that the two tech- the Moon. The second work- only skin-deep. In recent years, niques measure iron resident in shop was held in Flagstaff, AZ, remote observers have begun to different settings in the soil. In in late September, 1999. Its appreciate the effects of in-situ addition, a complete explana- theme was Understanding the surface coatings and surface al- tion of the calibration of the Moon Through the Integration terations on grains, which can Lucey algorithm revealed that of Diverse Datasets. produce changes in spectra that the spectral detection of iron in would come from samples of crystal lattice sites is not the The return of lunar samples by pure minerals in the laboratory. same as the bulk iron content of the Apollo missions catalyzed Sample scientists have been lunar soils used as the standard the creation of the discipline of wary of conclusions about lu- to interpret the spectral data planetary science, in general, nar geochemical evolution quantitatively. (The correlation and lunar science, in particular. based on such data. is actually better that one should At the early Lunar Science Con- expect.) Consequently, Feldman ferences, the sample investiga- At the Flagstaff workshop these learned that differences between tors were kings. A decade later, two subcultures of lunar sci- his maps and the Lucey maps the bloom of sample science ence engaged in a dialogue on could be information about the had begun to fade and new infu- the fundamentals of their re- state of the iron in the soils sions of information came from search and thereby promoted a rather than shortcomings of the remote sensing, largely from better understanding of the value neutron measurements. observers on the Earth. These and the limitations of their sci- new
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