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NASA NTRS1976

The O(3P) and N(4S) density measurement at 225 km by ultraviolet absorption and fluorescence in the Apollo-Soyuz test project

The densities of O(3P) and N(4S) at 225 km were determined during the Apollo Soyuz Test Project by a resonance absorption/fluorescence technique in which OI and NI line radiation produced and collimated on board the Apollo was reflected from the Soyuz back to the Apollo for spectral analysis. The two spacecraft maneuvered so that a range of observation angles of plus or minus 15 deg with respect to the normal to the orbital velocity vector was scanned. The measurements were made at night on two consecutive orbits at spacecraft separations of 150 and 500 m. The resulting relative counting rates as function of observation angle were compared to calculated values to determine the oxygen value. This value agrees with mass spectrometric measurements made under similar conditions. The nitrogen value is in good agreement with other measurements and suggests a smaller diurnal variation than is predicted by present models.

Kaufman, F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The Apollo 17 'melt sheet' - Chemistry, age and Rb/Sr systematics

Major, minor, and trace-element compositions, age data, and Rb/Sr systematics of Apollo 17 boulders have been compiled, and additional analyses performed on a norite breccia clast (77215) included in the Apollo 17, Station 7 boulder. The Apollo 17 boulders are found to be identical or nearly so in major, minor, and trace-element composition, suggesting that they all originated as an impact melt analogous to melt sheets found in larger terrestrial craters. The matrix dates (Ar-40/Ar-39) and Rb/Sr systematics available suggest that this impact melt formed by a single impact about 4 billion years ago. This impact excavated, shocked, brecciated, and melted norites, norite cumulates, and possibly anorthositic gabbros and dunites about 4.4 billion years old. The impact was likely a major one, possibly the Serenitatis basin-forming event.

Winzer, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Apollo-Soyuz O/3P/ and N/4S/ density measurement by UV spectroscopy

The densities of O(3P) and N(4S) at 225 km were determined during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project by a resonance absorption-fluorescence technique in which O I and N I line radiation produced and collimated on board the Apollo was reflected from the Soyuz back to the Apollo for spectral analysis. The two spacecraft maneuvered so that a range of observation angles of plus or minus 25 deg with respect to the normal to the orbital velocity vector was scanned. The measurements described were made at night on two consecutive orbits at spacecraft separations of 150 and 500 m. The results indicate an O density of 1.15 billion per cu cm (plus or minus 30%), agreeing with mass-spectrometric measurements made under similar conditions, and an N density of 5.6 to 11.2 million per cu cm, in good agreement with recent measurements but suggesting a smaller diurnal variation than predicted by present models.

Donahue, T. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Mn-53 in the Apollo 15 and 16 drill stems - Evidence for surface mixing

The activity of cosmic ray produced Mn-53 has been measured in a series of samples from the upper 10 cm of the Apollo 15 and 16 drill stems. The activity profiles for both cores indicate disturbance to depths of about 3 g/sq cm within the last 6 m.y. In at least one case (Apollo 16) the soil has been gardened to at least 14 g/sq cm within the last 10 m.y., and material from the upper less than 2 g/sq cm has been buried to 14 g/sq cm by this gardening. The results for the Apollo 15 core are compatible with a wide variety of possible histories including loss or gain of material.

Nishiizumi, K.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Reanalysis of the Apollo cosmic gamma-ray spectrum in the 0.3 to 10 MeV energy region

Additional data obtained from the Apollo 16 and 17 missions, together with collateral calculations on background radiation effects, have made possible an improved subtraction of unwanted backgrounds from the diffuse cosmic gamma ray data previously reported from Apollo 15. As a result, the 1 to 10 MeV spectrum is lowered significantly and connects smoothly with recent data at other energies. The inflection reported previously is much less pronounced and has no more than 1.5 sigma significance. Sky occultation by the Apollo 16 spacecraft shows the bulk of the 0.3 to 1 MeV radiation to be diffuse. The analysis of spurious backgrounds points to important improvements for future experiments designed for this spectral region. A light-weight satellite design can give a fourfold improvement in the signal to noise for such a measurement. Use of an anisotropic central crystal, which spins quickly compared with possible time variations in detector background, would enable sensitive limits to be set on galactic plane and point source contributions.

Dyer, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

AR-39Ar-40 dating of basalts and rock breccias from Apollo 17 and the malvern achondrite

The principles and the potential of the Ar-39/Ar-40 dating technique are illustrated by means of results obtained for 12 Apollo 17 rocks. Emphasis is given to methodical problems and the geological interpretation of lunar rock ages. Often it is ambigious to associate a given lunar breccia with a certain formation, or a formation with a basin. In addition, large-scale events on the Moon have not necessarily reset radiometric clocks completely. One rock fragment has a well-defined plateau age of 4.28 b.y., but the ages of two Apollo 17 breccias define an upper limit for the formation age of the Serenitatis basin at 4.05 b.y. Ages derived from five mare basalts indicate cessation of mare volcanism at Taurus-Littrow approximately 3.78 b.y. ago. Ca/Ar-37 exposure ages show that Camelot Crater was formed by an impact approximately 95 m.y. ago. After a short summary of the lunar timetable as it stands at the end of the Apollo program, we report about Ar-39/Ar-40 and rare gas studies on the Malvern meteorite. This achondrite resembles lunar highland breccias in texture as well as in rare-gas patterns. It was strongly annealed at some time between 3.4 and 3.8 b.y. ago. The results indicate that very similar processes have occurred on the Moon and on achondritic parent bodies at comparable times, leading to impact breccias with strikingly similar features, including the retention of rare-gas isotopes from various sources.

Kirsten, T.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Lithological maps of selected Apollo 14 Breccia samples

A booklet of mapped surfaces of some Apollo 14 samples was prepared as an intermediate step towards the preparation of a new Apollo 14 sample catalog. It contains recently obtained observations and pictures of some of the largest and less well documented Apollo breccia samples. Some of the samples (14303, 14305, 14306, and 14311) were chosen because they have large sawn surfaces. These were dusted and mapped using a binocular microscope through the window of the nitrogen cabinet.

Twedell, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Apollo-Soyuz pamphlet no. 4: Gravitational field

Two Apollo Soyuz experiments designed to detect gravity anomalies from spacecraft motion are described. The geodynamics experiment (MA-128) measured large-scale gravity anomalies by detecting small accelerations of Apollo in the 222 km orbit, using Doppler tracking from the ATS-6 satellite. Experiment MA-089 measured 300 km anomalies on the earth's surface by detecting minute changes in the separation between Apollo and the docking module. Topics discussed in relation to these experiments include the Doppler effect, gravimeters, and the discovery of mascons on the moon.

Page, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Sr-isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis of Apollo 12 mare basalts

As part of a study of Apollo 12 basalts, crystallization ages and initial Sr-87/Sr-86 (I) were determined for pigeonite basalts 12039 and 12055 and ilmenite basalt 12051. Sr-86/Sr-87 measurements for a larger suite of whole rock and plagioclase samples were obtained, and it is found that I-values for olivine and pigeonite basalts are indistinguishable while I-values for ilmenite basalts are distinctly lower. A self-consistent model for the evolution of the Sr-isotopic composition and REE abundances suggests that basalt was formed by small (2-10%) degrees of melting of cumulate sources composed of varying proportions of olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene. This model requires nonchondritic relative abundances of the REE in the parental liquid at the time of formation of the cumulate sources. The model also describes Sr-isotopic composition and REE abundances of Apollo 17 high-Ti basalts and Apollo 15 low-Ti basalts. A lunar 'scenario' involving open system crystallization of a magma ocean from the crust downward is proposed.

Nyquist, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Characteristics of metal particles in Apollo 16 rocks

It is pointed out that FeNi metal particles, composed predominantly of kamacite and ranging in size from less than 1 micron to more than 2 mm across, are ubiquitous in the lunar samples returned by the Apollo and Luna missions. The metal particles seldom exceed 1% of the volume of a lunar sample. However, their study has proven to be of considerable potential value in a number of aspects of lunar petrogenesis related to thermal history, equilibration temperatures, reduction processes and oxygen fugacities during magmatic crystallization and subsolidus reduction and oxidation, and the meteoritic component of lunar rocks based on Ni-Co contents of individual metal particles. Detailed studies have been conducted of the textures and compositions of the metal particles in 19 Apollo 16 rock samples representing material from the North Ray and the South Ray ejecta and/or fall-back blankets. It was found that the textures and compositions of the metal particles in the Apollo 16 rocks can be correlated with their host petrology.

Misra, K. C.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Experimental modeling of the cooling history of Apollo 12 olivine basalts

An analog of the Apollo 12 olivine vitrophyres has been crystallized in a 1-atm gas-mixing furnace at cooling rates ranging between 1250 and 0.7 C/hr and isothermally at degrees of supercooling ranging from 10 C to 325 C. Mineral chemistry, crystal shapes, grain sizes and textures are systematically related to cooling rate and degree of supercooling. At linear cooling rates not exceeding 40 C/hr the texture is porphyritic - large olivine crystals are set in a groundmass of finer-grained pyroxene, plagioclase, and ilmenite; a later generation of olivine never crystallizes. There are three shapes of olivine crystals in the Apollo 12 olivine vitrophyres: glomerocrysts of subhedral crystals, large subequant skeletons, and highly elongate skeletons. These result from three generations of nucleation and a two-stage cooling history - a slow preeruption stage and a rapid continuously increasing posteruption stage. It seems likely that the Apollo 12 olivine basalt magmas were erupted with olivine crystals in suspension. The nucleation temperature of olivine in cooling-rate experiments is dependent on the experimental technique, and hence results of cooling experiments should be applied with caution.

Donaldson, C. H.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Rb-Sr ages and initial Sr-87/Sr-86 for Apollo 17 basalts and KREEP basalt 15386

The Rb-Sr data reported for Apollo 17 mare basalts and for KREEP basalt 15386 is used to determine mineral isochrons. The weighted average age of four Apollo 17 basalts is 3.76 + or - 0.06 AE, while the age determined for 15386 is 3.94 + or - 0.04 AE. The isotopic data for the Apollo 17 basalts are discussed in the context of Sm and Eu data for the same samples. The Sr-isotopic data are fit best by a three-stage model evolution involving evolution of Sr-87/Sr-86 in an environment with Rb/Sr greater than in the basalts, production of mare basalt source regions of lower but variable Rb/Sr sometime in the interval 4.6 to 3.75 AE ago, and extraction of lavas from these sources 3.75 AE ago. Other possibilities are considered.

Nyquist, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

/Ar-40/-/Ar-39/ dating of Apollo 16 and 17 rocks

The reported study is a continuation of an investigation begun by Alexander and Kahl (1974), with primary emphasis on (Ar-40)-(Ar-39) dating of lunar breccias. A primary objective of the study was related to the resolution of small plateau-age differences between Apollo 16 and 17 samples which have been irradiated in the same irradiation. This objective was not realized because (1) neither of the considered Apollo 16 samples has a well-defined plateau, and (2) the release patterns of the two Apollo 17 samples with plateaux (73235 and 77017) are sufficiently complex to suggest caution in interpretation of fine-scale differences among apparent ages. The plateau age of 73235 agrees well with plateau ages measured for a nearby boulder at the South Massif. The plateau age of 77017, on the other hand, agrees well with plateau ages measured in an nearby boulder at the base of the North Massif. These rock and boulder ages are tightly clustered about 3.99 b.y., and this clustering suggests that the North and South Massifs were made in the same basin-forming event, presumably Serenitatis.

Phinney, D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Crater studies in the Apollo 17 region

As part of crater analysis in the Apollo 17 region, cumulative size-frequency curves were constructed, the density distribution of small craters was determined, and the effects of secondary crater clusters near the landing site were studied. The cumulative curves indicate that the old dark-mantled mare is similar in age to Apollo 11 mare, and that the adjacent young light mare of Central Serenitatis is similar in age to Apollo 15 mare. The old dark-mantled surface is markedly deficient in craters between 100 and 200 m in diameter, and the analysis suggests that this deficiency is a consequence of the old dark mantle which gives rise to an unusually thick unconsolidated layer that causes abnormally rapid degradation of small craters.

Lucchitta, B. K.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Interaction of gases with lunar materials - Revised results for Apollo 11

The surface properties of an Apollo 11 soil sample have been reinvestigated. The present study shows that the preliminary results for this sample (Fuller et al., 1971) are in error, principally because of incorrectly applied instrumental background effects. The surface properties of these Apollo 11 fines are very similar to those of fines from the other Apollo landing sites that we have examined. On the basis of results reported to date, the surface properties (specific surface area, porosity, and reactivity with water) of lunar soil samples are, to a first approximation, independent of bulk chemical composition and location on the lunar surface. Drastic alteration of the surface characteristics of lunar fines by adsorbed water continues to be the distinguishing feature of their surface chemistry.

Holmes, H. F.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Apollo 11: A good ending to a bad decade

The Gemini program and the Apollo program which culminated in landing a man on the moon and safely returning him to earth are highlighted. The space program in the aftermath of Apollo 11 is briefly summarized, including: Skylab, Apollo Soyuz, Mars and Venus probes, improved world communications, remote sensing of world resources, and finally, space shuttle.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1979

Catalog of earth photographs from the Apollo-Soyuz test project

Information is given on earth photographs obtained by the Apollo astronauts during the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. The data are arranged in three sections. A map index shows the boundaries of each photograph and is used for a quick survey of the coverage for a given geographical area. A tabular index provides the following data: list of photographs by serial number, description of geographic location, latitude and longitude of the center point of the photograph, date when photograph was taken, ground elapsed time, revolution number of Apollo spacecraft, approximate spacecraft altitude, tilt, sun angle, camera, and lens. The photographic index provides same size black and white prints made from the original color negatives.

El-Baz, F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The Apollo VHF ranging system

As the Apollo program proceeded, redundancy became a requirement for all crew safety functions. One critical period of the Apollo missions was the rendezvous of the Command Module and the Lunar Module. The rendezvous radar provided the critical range, range rate, and angle measurements necessary to complete the rendezvous. Use of a redundant radar for backup was out of the question because of its 80-lb weight. It was, however, found that the voice radios could be adapted to perform the ranging function. Slight modifications of the VHF voice radios and the addition of a ranging interrogator and transponder at a weight of less than 10 lbs total would provide an accuracy of 100-ft rms at several hundred miles. The Apollo VHF ranging system demonstrated that it is feasible to achieve highly accurate range measurements with conventional voice radios.

Nossen, E. J.↗