Petrology and provenance of Apollo 15 drive tube 15007/8The petrology of submillimeter fractions of soils from 13 levels of Apollo 15 drive tube 15007/8 have been studied through grain size analysis, modal analysis of the 90-150 micron sieve fraction, and electron probe microanalysis of monomineralic fragments of olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase from the soils. It is shown that core 15007/8 does not contain distinct lithologic units and probably contains soils of mixed maturity in which mixing has greatly dominated in situ reworking. No petrologic layering is found in the core. Abundances of KREEP basalts correlate with mare basalts and not with anorthosite, norite, and troctolite components from the Apennine Front. Some olivine and pyroxene fragments with mare basalt affinity are found to be optically and chemically unzoned, suggesting that they may have been derived from unusual source rocks.
Document ID
19890023499
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Basu, Abhijit (Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN, United States)
Gerke, Tammie (Indiana University Bloomington, United States)
Mckay, David S. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)