Fact sheet
77035 is an impact melt rock that has partially dissolved the original clasts or welded them into its recrystallized matrix. It has a fine-grained flow-banded matrix and contains several clasts including one large, pristine clast of cataclastic norite (not seen in our thin section). Smaller, additional lithic clasts include dunite, norite and anorthosite. Mineral clasts of olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase feldspar are also common.
The sample weighed 5727 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.