An evaluation of pyrolytic techniques with regard to the Apollo 11, 12 and 14 lunar samples analyses.

The first technique involved pyrolysis at 700 C under an inert atmosphere in a flowing He system at normal pressure. The products were collected at liquid nitrogen temperature and then allowed to pass instantaneously into a combined capillary gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The second technique consisted of a vacuum pyrolysis where the sample was first degassed at 150 C and then pyrolized at 500 C and 1000 C consecutively. The products were again collected at liquid nitrogen temperature and then they were directly introduced to the ion source of the mass spectrometer through a modified gas inlet system. The experiments have shown the importance of taking into account the factors that influence pyrolytic degradation and/or the synthesis of products. Pyrolysis of Apollo 14 lunar fines and scrapings from an astronaut's glove gave different products by mass spectroscopy and showed different looking flaky materials upon scanning electron microscopy.