Fact sheet
70156 is a medium grey, subangular, and homogeneous basalt that was collected from a basaltic boulder named the "Geophone Rock". It is a poikilitic high-Ti mare basalt containing interstitial, anhedral ilmenite set in pyroxene and plagioclase feldspar. Ilmenite contains both rutile and spinel exsolution lamellae. Ilmenite-free armalcolite inclusions are found in pyroxene. Olivine is found only as small cores to pyroxene grains (rotation 1). Metallic iron and troilite form interstitial phases. Point counting reveals that 70156 is comprised of 65.2% pyroxene; 19.7% ilmenite; 7.7% plagioclase; 2.9% armalcolite; 2.3% olivine; and 2.2% metallic iron.
The sample weighed 0.63 grams before analysis and has not been dated.
Further details of this and other Apollo samples are here: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/
Apollo 17, the final manned landing mission, had two objectives: to obtain samples of ancient rocks from the lunar highlands and to look for evidence of younger volcanic activity on the valley floor.
This small Collection contains material deriving from both periods, including igneous rocks around 4.3 billion years old from the lunar highlands as well as younger volcanic samples dating from about 3.6 billion years ago.
Apollo 17 was launched on 7 December 1972.