Larry Taylor, Dave McKay, David Carrier, James Carter, and Paul Weiblen

1
The Nature of Lunar Soil Considerations for
Simulants
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Lunar
Soil
Larry Taylor, Dave McKay, David Carrier, James
Carter, and Paul Weiblen The Lunar Simulant
Consortium
CSM 11/1/04
2
Moon is an enormous Earth-orbiting Space
Station, A natural satellite outside of
Earths gravity well, With raw materials that
can be put to practical use As humanity
expands outward into the Solar System.
OUTLINE

• FORMATION OF LUNAR SOIL
• UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF LUNAR SOIL
• SCI / ENGR PROPERTIES OF LUNAR SOILS
• THE NATURE OF LUNAR SOIL SIMULANTS

3
(No Transcript)
4
Our Unhappy Moon
30 - 100,000 km/hr
5
Micrometeorite Impacts on Lunar Glass Bead
5 mm
Impact Craters
Courtesy Dave McKay
6
Lunar Soil Formation
Comminution, Agglutination, Vapor Deposition
7
(No Transcript)
8
Mare-Soil Agglutinates
Polished section as viewed in Reflected Light
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
Weight Distribution
Table 9.1 (LSB, 1991) Weight distribution in
size fractions of scooped surface soils.
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
Vapor-Deposited Nanophase Feo on Plagioclase
Keller et al. (1999)
SiO2-rich glass
Plagioclase
100 Å
19
Multiple Layers of Vapor Deposition
Wentworth et al. (1999)
Wentworth et al., 1999
rim
Layer 2
Layer 1
Np Fe0
Agglutinitic Glass
20
(No Transcript)
21
MAGNETIC PROPERTIESOF LUNAR SOILS

• Magnetic Susceptibility of Soil
  Particles Increases as Grain Size
  Decreases

• Effects of Vapor-Deposited Nanophase Feo are a
  Direct Function of Surface Area and Most
• Pronounced in the Finest Grain Sizes

• Virtually All lt10 ?m Particles are Easily
  Attracted by a Simple Hand-held Magnet,
  Plg, Pyx, Ol, and Agglutinitic Glass alike.

22
Lunar Dust Effects Must be Addressed before any
Commercial Presenceon the Moon can be Fully
Evaluated.

• Potential for coatings, on seals, gaskets,
  optical lens, windows, electrical
  components, et cetera
• Abrasiveness, with regards to friction-bearing
  surfaces
• Potential for settling on all thermal and
  optical surfaces, such as Solar cells and
  mirrors and
• Physiological effects on humans, especially
  with respect to the lungs, the lymph
  system, and potentially the cardiovascular
  system, in the case of extremely fine
  particles.

SOLUTION Magnetic brushes ??
23
MICROWAVE PROCESSING OF LUNAR SOIL
SINTERING and MELTING
Creating Smooth-Sintered to Glassy Surfaces on
the Moon
Microwave Source
ParabolicMetalReflector
Primary Cone of Microwaves
24
MICROWAVE PROCESSING OF LUNAR SOIL
SINTERING and MELTING
25
(No Transcript)
26
Lunar Soil Properties
Specific Gravity Range from 2.3 to gt3.2
recommend 3.1 for
Engr/Sci use. Bulk Density top 15 cm
1.45-1.55 g/cm3 avg 1.50 ?0.05 g/cm3
0-30 cm 1.53-1.63 g/cm3
avg 1.58 ?0.05 g/cm3
30-60 cm 1.69-1.79 g/cm3 avg 1.74 ?0.05
g/cm3 0-60 cm
1.61-1.71 ?0.05 g/cm3 avg 1.66 ?0.05 g/cm3
values up to 1.9 g/cm3
estimated at depth of cores to 2.98 m
Soil Porosity
Lunar soil, in-situ, is very dense, more than
that which could be produced with mechanical
compaction equipment the lunar
soil has experienced slow shaking over eons of
time.
27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)