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Grain size and the evolution of Luna 24 soilsThe grain size distribution of six Luna 24 samples has been determined. These samples are characterized by a bimodal distribution which is indicative of soils formed primarily by mixing rather than by reworking. Although agglutinate content decreases with depth, it is not likely that the Luna 24 soils have undergone appreciable in situ reworking. Particle types and abundances in each of four size fractions have been determined petrographically. Mineral fragments are very abundant in all analyzed size fractions. Pyroxene and plagioclase increase slightly in abundance at finer grain sizes, but olivine decreases significantly. Compared with typical mare soils, the Luna 24 trends are anomalous. They are compatible with the hypothesis than many, if not most, of the mineral grains in the 20-250-micron fractions come from coarse-grain rocks having average mineral grain sizes greater than 250 microns. The mineralogy and chemistry of the coarse-grained rocks has not been well characterized, but there is evidence that at least some of them are higher in MgO than the analyzed finer-grained basalts.
Document ID
19790048498
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Mckay, D. S.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, Tex., United States)
Basu, A.
(Indiana University Bloomington, Ind., United States)
Waits, G.
(Lockheed Electronics Co., Inc. Houston, Tex., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1978
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Mare Crisium: The view from Luna 24; Conference
Location: Houston, TX
Start Date: December 1, 1977
End Date: December 3, 1977
Sponsors: NSF
Accession Number
79A32511
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSR-09-051-001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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