Petrographic and ferromagnetic resonance studies of experimentally shocked regolith analogs

Studies of porous aggregates of a regolith analog system composed of a 50:50-wt% mixture of labradorite and bronzite shocked at approximately 100-kbar intervals up to approximately 500 kbar are described, and characteristics of the well-indurated 'rock' formed at all pressures are reported. Ferromagnetic resonance studies of diopside and bronzite that were shocked at approximately 500 kbar are also reported. The formation of metallic particles in the superparamagnetic and single-domain size range as well as the metal fractionation are characterized, and the results suggest that the superparamagnetic and single-domain metallic particles in lunar soils may be produced by shock-induced dissemination of meteoritic and indigenous metal.