78587 (6) Ilmenite Basalt
Collection:
Apollo 17
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MicroscopeFact sheet
78587 (6) Ilmenite Basalt
78587 is an aphanitic basalt fragment picked up in a rake sample. It is a fine- grained, high-Ti basalt and contains skeletal ilmenite and olivine (rotations 1 & 2) in an aphanitic groundmass. Trace amounts of metallic iron, armalcolite, Cr-ulvospinel and silica have also been reported. The sample weighed 11.5 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.