Glasses in ancient and young Apollo 16 regolith breccias - Populations and ultra Mg-prime glassElectron microprobe analysis was used to determine the major element compositions of glass spheres and fragments in seven possibly ancient (about 4 Gyr) and three young (less than 4 Gyr) Apollo 16 regolith breccias. It is found that mare glasses are extremely rare in the ancient regolith breccias, and silica-poor gabbroic anorthosite and high-alumina silica-poor glasses are not present in ancient breccias. Ultra Mg-prime glasses are unique to the Apollo 16 regolith breccias and are most common in the ancient breccias. It is suggested that the presence of ultra Mg-prime glasses could indicate the presence of previously unsampled crustal or volcanic rock types on the moon.
Document ID
19890023487
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Wentworth, Susan J. (Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Co., Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Mckay, David S. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)