Apollo 14 revisited, or breccias aren't so bad after all

A study of large Apollo 14 samples suggests that they were formed by the same processes which formed the impactites found at Apollo 16 and 17 and in terrestrial craters, especially those in crystalline targets. The abundant crystalline matrix breccias of the Apollo 14 samples generally show higher clast contents and less refractory clast populations than the clast-laden impact melts abundant at the other Apollo nonmare landing sites. The Apollo 14 characteristics are attributed to the mixing of a greater amount of cold clastic debris into the superheated melt formed during impacts. The other major lithology at Apollo 14, the vitric matrix breccias, are made in part from agglutinate-bearing soil and cannot be the protolith of crystalline matrix breccias, because of differences in structure and composition. Variations among the breccias indicate the occurrence of several impact events.