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Comparison of Morphologies of Apollo 17 Dust Particles with Lunar Simulant, JSC-1Lunar dust (< 20 microns) makes up approx.20 wt.% of the lunar soil. Because of the abrasive and adhering nature of lunar soil, a detailed knowledge of the morphology (size, shape and abundance) of lunar dust is important for dust mitigation on the Moon. This represents a critical step towards the establishment of long-term human presence on the Moon (Taylor et al. 2005). Machinery design for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on the Moon also requires detailed information on dust morphology and general physical/chemical characteristics. Here, we report a morphological study of Apollo 17 dust sample 70051 and compare it to lunar soil stimulant, JSC-1. W e have obtained SEM images of dust grains from sample 70051 soil (Fig. 1). The dust grains imaged are composed of fragments of minerals, rocks, agglutinates and glass. Most particles consist largely of agglutinitic impact glass with their typical vesicular textures (fine bubbles). All grains show sub-angular to angular shapes, commonly with sharp edges, common for crushed glass fragments. There are mainly four textures: (1) ropey-textured pieces (typical for agglutinates), (2) angular shards, (3) blocky bits, and (4) Swiss-cheese grains. This last type with its high concentration of submicron bubbles, occurs on all scales. Submicron cracks are also present in most grains. Dust-sized grains of lunar soil simulant, JSC-1, were also studied. JSC-1 is a basaltic tuff with relatively high glass content (approx.50%; McKay et al. 1994). It was initially chosen in the early 90s to approximate the geotechnical properties of the average lunar soil (Klosky et al. 1996). JSC-1 dust grains also show angular blocky and shard textures (Fig. 2), similar to those of lunar dust. However, the JSC-1 grains lack the Swiss-cheese textured particles, as well as submicron cracks and bubbles in most grains.
Document ID
20050237926
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Liu, Yang
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Taylor, Lawrence A.
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Hill, Eddy
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Kihm, Kenneth D.
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Day, James D. M.
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
June 14, 2005
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Lunar COnference 2005
Location: Toronto
Country: Canada
Start Date: September 18, 2005
End Date: September 23, 2005
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: Proj. 4200109043
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNM05AA88C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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