Evidence for lunar volcano-tectonic features
Lunar volcano-tectonic processes, considering primary circular or polygonal surface features evolution
Elston, W. E.↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “lunar processing”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The new moon - A view
Apollo and Luna data related to lunar origin, evolution and processes, discussing mare basalts, interior composition, regolith, breccias, chronology, surface properties, etc
Hinners, N. W.↗
Exotic armalcolite and the origin of Apollo 11 ilmenite basalts
Armalcolite and ilmenite basalt in Apollo 11 lunar samples, discussing formation process of titanium, potassium and silicon oxides
Anderson, A. T., Jr.↗
Moonquakes and lunar tectonism results from the Apollo passive seismic experiment.
The natural seismicity of the moon appears to be very low relative to that of the earth. However, moonquakes do occur. They are detected by the stations of the Apollo seismic network at an average rate of 1800/yr at Station 14 and at lower rates at Stations 12 and 15. All of the moonquakes are small, and in the few cases for which the foci have been located, they occur at great depth (about 800 km). The frequency of occurrence of moonquakes is strongly correlated with lunar tides. The dynamic processes that generate quakes are clearly much less vigorous within the moon than they are within the earth.
Latham, G.↗
Moon - 'Ghost' craters formed during Mare filling.
This paper discusses formation of 'pathological' cases of crater morphology due to interaction of craters with molten lavas. Terrestrial observations of such a process are discussed. In lunar maria, a number of small impact craters (D less than 10 km) may have been covered by thin layers of fluid lavas, or formed in molten lava. Some specific lunar examples are discussed, including unusual shallow rings resembling experimental craters deformed by isostatic filling.
Cruikshank, D. P.↗
Effects of vapor-phase deposition processes on the optical, chemical, and magnetic properties of the lunar regolith
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Hapke, B.↗
Nuclear pumped gas laser research
Nuclear pumping of lasers by fission-fragments from nuclear chain reactions is discussed. Application of the newly developed lasers to spacecraft propulsion or onboard power, to lunar bases for industrial processing, and to earth for utilization of power without pollution and hazards is envisioned. Emphasis is placed on the process by which the fission-fragement kinetic energy is converted into laser light.
Thom, K.↗
Ancient crustal components in the Fra Mauro breccias
Texturally pristine clasts preserve primary petrographic relationships and mineral compositions, yielding insights into igneous processes of the early lunar crust that cannot be gained from highly shocked and brecciated 'chemically pristine' samples. The use of texture as a prime criterion allows for expansion of the data base derived solely from chemical criteria, and provides complementary data. Texturally pristine clasts from the Apollo 14 site studied here include anorthosite, troctolites, gabbronorites, and basalts. Alkali anorthosites are plagioclase orthocumulates and may form by flotation in Mg-suite plutons. Ferroan anorthosite was cataclastically deformed and metamorphosed to granulite facies. Troctolites include both 01 + Plg and 01 + En + Plg cumulates. Major and trace element analyses of two troctolites reveal 'eastern' geochemical affinities that contrast other 'western' troctolites. Gabbronorites are Pig + Plg + or - Sp cumulates whose parent magmas may range from high-Al to intermediate-Ti mare basalt. At least three varieties of mare basalt are found at Apollo 14: high-Al, low-Ti; low-Al, intermediate-Ti; and low-Al, Ti VHK basalt. VHK (Very High Potassium) basalt is a new variety indigenous to Apollo 14.
Shervais, J. W.↗
Lunar surface base propulsion system study. Volume 2: Lunar propellant manual
The efficiency, capability, and evolution of a lunar base will be largely dependent on the transportation system that supports it. Beyond the space station in low Earth orbit, a lunar-derived propellant supply could provide the most important resource for the transportation infrastructure. The key to an efficient lunar base propulsion system is the degree of lunar self-sufficiency and reasonable propulsion system performance. Lunar surface propellant production requirements must be accounted in the measurement of efficiency of the entire space transportation system. Of all chemical propellant/propulsion systems considered, hydrogen/oxygen (H/O) OTVs appear most desirable, while both H/O and aluminum/oxygen propulsion systems may be considered for the lander. Aluminized-hydrogen/oxygen and silane/oxygen propulsion systems are also promising candidates. Lunar propellant availability and processing techniques, chemical propulsion/vehicle design characteristics, and the associated performance of the total transportation infrastructure are reviewed, conceptual propulsion system designs and vehicle/basing concepts, and technology requirements are assessed.
Teeter, Ronald R.↗
Apollo 14 mare basalt petrogenesis - Assimilation of KREEP-like components by a fractionating magma
Based on analysis of whole rock and mineral data from 22 samples, it is shown that the trace element characteristics of 14321 high-AL mare basalts exhibit variations that cannot be related to short-range mixing alone. It is suggested that the five groups defined for Apollo 14 high-Al basalts are due to sampling. It is found that the addition of new data results in a continuum of compositions. Detailed trace element modeling demonstrates that a primitive parental magma evolves by assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) with KREEP. The ratio of mass assimilated to mass crystallized is found to be 0.22. It is suggested that this AFC process occurs within the lunar crust and that the fractionating phases are effectively removed from the system.
Neal, Clive R.↗
Geology and deposits of the lunar Nectaris basin
The geology and composition of Nectaris basin deposits have been investigated in order to provide information on the lunar basin-forming process and the regional geologic setting of the Apollo 16 landing site. Several outcrops of nearly pure anorthosite were noted in locations such as the walls of Kant crater, an inner ring of the basin, and the crater Bohnenberger F. The results suggest that the impact can be modeled as a proportional-growth crater, and that the Nectaris excavation cavity was about 470 km in diameter and as deep as 55 km.
Spudis, P. D.↗
Concurrent research on the Space Station transportation node
The feasibility of integrating scientific research on Space Station Freedom (SSF) with concurrent lunar-vehicle assembly and servicing operations associated with the support of Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) is investigated. The SSF, SEI, and lunar-vehicle user resource requirements are reviewed, and a station configuration is derived which can accommodate a significant percentage of user requirements while supporting the lunar transport vehicle (LTV) processing operations. The derived station configuration will require several augmentations to the baseline configuration. Most notably, the SSF power generation will be increased by an addition of six solar dynamic arrays, crew support will be increased by adding two habitation modules, and more payloads will be accomodated by adding dual keels.
Meredith, B. D.↗
Iron and alloys of iron
All lunar soil contains iron in the metallic form, mostly as an iron-nickel alloy in concentrations of a few tenths of 1 percent. Some of this free iron can be easily separated by magnetic means. It is estimated that the magnetic separation of 100,000 tons of lunar soil would yield 150-200 tons of iron. Agglutinates contain metallic iron which could be extracted by melting and made into powder metallurgy products. The characteristics and potential uses of the pure-iron and iron-alloy lunar products are discussed. Processes for working iron that might be used in a nonterrestrial facility are also addressed.
Sastri, Sankar↗
Regolith-structure modeling
Early lunar missions have provided a basic understanding of the physical and strength properties of lunar regolith, which have been shown to differ from those of dry terrestrial granular soils. Lunar regolith is predominantly a fine sand of which nearly 40 percent can be characterized as silt with a particle size smaller than 100 micrometers. The top 10 to 20 cm of the regolith can be characterized as being in a loose to medium-loose state. The density of the regolith, however, rapidly increases below a depth of 20 cm. The highly irregular and angular shapes of the regolith particles tend to interlock and create relatively strong mechanical bonds that give the particulate mass substantial cohesive properties and smaller amounts of tensile strength properties. In addition, the friction angle of lunar regolith at medium to high densities is quite high and often exceeds 55 degrees. These known properties of lunar regolith have been matched in a terrestrially-manufactured analog known as Minnesota Lunar Simulant. A variety of experiments were conducted using this simulant to both verify existing information and generate new information on the physical and constitutive properties of lunar regolith. These experiments include maximum and minimum density determinations, specific mass of solids, grain-size distribution, conventional triaxial compression and extension, isotropic compression, one-dimensional compression, direct shear, and direct tension. Direct shear experiments were conducted under atmospheric and vacuum conditions. Results of the physical and strength experiments compare closely to results obtained from lunar missions. Results of simulant strength experiments performed in vacuum indicated no observable difference from results obtained in air. A test bed currently under study is one involving a regolith shield covering a first-generation human habitat module. It is understood that regolith in depths ranging from 3 to 5 meters is required for radiation shielding for habitation and workspace. The habitat module is treated as a rigid cylindrical tube with a smooth exterior. By making the cylinder rigid, a complex interaction problem is reduced to a situation where we can consider the support regolith and the shielding regolith as behaving independently of the structural properties of the cylindrical structure. Medium-dense lunar simulant was placed around a scaled model of the habitat module to provide a radiation shield. This embankment-type shield was constructed in relatively thin but fine layers by compacting, by mechanical vibratory means, layer upon layer of simulant placed adjacent to the horizontally-aligned cylinder. The slope angles were constructed at 55 degrees. The model described above was studied in a geotechnical centrifuge, which allows for the scaling of model dimensions to prototype dimensions by increasing the acceleration of gravity on the model. The deformation response can be scaled up to prototype dimensions to provide an assessment of the deformation patterns of the lunar structure. The actual process of local and/or global growth of instabilities or skip planes can also be observed.
Ko, Hon-Yim↗
Evidence for a Light-Rare-Earth-Element-Depleted Source for Some Ferroan Anorthosites
In the lunar magma ocean model, ferroan anorthosites (FANs) are expected to be derived from a relatively undifferentiated source with chondritic REE abundances and yield the oldest radiometric ages of any lunar rocks. Samarium-neodymium-isotopic analyses of 60025 and 67016 yielded ages of 4.44 +/- 0.02 Ga and 4.53 +/- 0.12 Ga and initial Epsilon(sub Nd)(sup 143) values in excess of -0.5. These ages are within error of ages determined on some Mg-suite rocks by researchers. Thus, the existing data are not completely consistent with the standard magma ocean model. We have completed isotopic analysis on the pristine FAN 62236 in order to place further constraints on lunar crust-forming processes.
Borg, L. E.↗
Recovery and Utilization of Extraterrestrial Resources
This special bibliography includes the extraction, processing, and utilization of lunar, planetary, and asteroid resources; mining and excavation equipment, oxygen and propellant production; and in situ resource utilization.
Source record↗
Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Martian Aeolian and Mass Wasting Processes: Blowing and Flowing
The session Martian Aeolian and Mass Wasting Processes: BLowing and Flowing included the following topics: 1) Three Decades of Martian Surface Changes; 2) Thermophysical Properties of Isidis Basin, Mars; 3) Intracrater Material in Eastern Arabia Terra: THEMIS, MOC, and MOLA Analysis of Wind-blown Deposits and Possible High-Inertia Source Material; 4) Thermal Properties of Sand from TES and THEMIS: Do Martian Dunes Make a Good Control for Thermal Inertia Calculations? 5) A Comparative Analysis of Barchan Dunes in the Intra-Crater Dune Fields and the North Polar Sand Sea; 6) Diluvial Dunes in Athabasca Valles, Mars: Morphology, Modeling and Implications; 7) Surface Profiling of Natural Dust Devils; 8) Martian Dust Devil Tracks: Inferred Directions of Movement; 9) Numerical Simulations of Anastomosing Slope Streaks on Mars; 10) Young Fans in an Equatorial Crater in Xanthe Terra, Mars; 11) Large Well-exposed Alluvual Fans in Deep Late-Noachian Craters; 12) New Evidence for the Formation of Large Landslides on Mars; and 13) What Can We Learn from the Ages of Valles Marineris Landslides on Martian Impact History?
Source record↗
Altair Lander Life Support: Design Analysis Cycles 1, 2, and 3
NASA is working to develop a new lunar lander to support lunar exploration. The development process that the Altair project is using for this vehicle is unlike most others. In Lander Design Analysis Cycle 1 (LDAC-1), a single-string, minimum functionality design concept was developed, including life support systems for different vehicle configuration concepts, first for a combination of an ascent vehicle and a habitat with integral airlocks, and then for a combined ascent vehicle-habitat with a detachable airlock. In LDAC-2, the Altair team took the ascent vehicle-habitat with detachable airlock and analyzed the design for the components that were the largest contributors to the risk of loss of crew (LOC). For life support, the largest drivers were related to oxygen supply and carbon dioxide control. Integrated abort options were developed at the vehicle level. Many life support failures were not considered to result in LOC because they had a long enough time to effect that abort was considered a feasible option to safely end the mission before the situation became life threatening. These failures were then classified as loss of mission (LOM) failures. Many options to reduce LOC risk were considered, and mass efficient solutions to the LOC problems were added to the vehicle design at the end of LDAC-2. In LDAC-3, the new design was analyzed for large contributors to the risk of LOM. To avoid ending the mission early or being unable to accomplish goals like performing all planned extravehicular activities (EVAs), various options were assessed for their combination of risk reduction and mass cost. This paper outlines the major assumptions, design features, and decisions related to the development of the life support system for the Altair project through LDAC-3.
Anderson, Molly↗