79115 (20) Regolith Breccia
Collection:
Apollo 17
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79115 (20) Regolith Breccia
79115 is from the top surface of a boulder from which 79135 was also collected. It contains orange glass beads, of volcanic origin. The breccia has a seriate grain size distribution, some agglutinates, high gas content and a wide range of lithic components (including highland rocks, mare basalt, KREEP basalt and feldspathic basalt). About 60% of the sample is a homogeneous matrix of mineral debris and partially to completely devitrified opaque glass. Porosity is about 5 %. The sample weighed 346.3 grams before analysis and has not been dated. Further details of this and other Apollo samples are here: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/ |
About this collection
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.