Fact sheet
71537 is an olivine-microporphyritic ilmenite basalt collected as part of a rake sample. It has a fine-grained variolitic groundmass with small olivine (rotation 2) and acicular ilmenite phenocrysts. There are abundant chromite inclusions in olivine. Sheaths of plagioclase and pyroxene are intergrown in bowties. Plagioclase contains elongate inclusions. Trace amounts of armalcolite and troilite are also present.
The sample weighed 12.3 grams before analysis and has not been dated.
Further details of this and other Apollo samples are here: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/
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.