Difference between revisions of "Lunar Regolith"
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The layer of debris which blankets most of the moon is commonly refered to as regolith. Billions of years of bombardment from space has created a highly comminuted (this means it has been broken into ever smaller grains and particles) surface through a process sometimes referered to as "impact gardening" or "space weathering." It is estimated that the regolith varies in thickness from 3 to 5 meters over the younger "maria" to approximatly 10 to 20 meters thick in the older "highlands." Below the impact regolith is a layer of "mega-regolith" consisting of highly fractered bedrock that is tens of kilometers thick. | The layer of debris which blankets most of the moon is commonly refered to as regolith. Billions of years of bombardment from space has created a highly comminuted (this means it has been broken into ever smaller grains and particles) surface through a process sometimes referered to as "impact gardening" or "space weathering." It is estimated that the regolith varies in thickness from 3 to 5 meters over the younger "maria" to approximatly 10 to 20 meters thick in the older "highlands." Below the impact regolith is a layer of "mega-regolith" consisting of highly fractered bedrock that is tens of kilometers thick. | ||
| − | <BR/><BR/> | + | <BR/><BR/>[[Image:658px-Moon_Comp_Graph.JPG|thumb|Relative Concentration Of Various Elements On The Lunar Surface]] |
| − | The portion of the regolith of a size less than 1cm is generally referred to as [[Lunar Soil]], and the dusty portion is referred to as [[Lunar Dust]] or "Fines. | + | [[Image:800px-Moon_VS_Earth_Composition.JPG|thumb|Relative Concentration (in weight ppm) of Various Elements on Lunar Highlands, Lunar Lowlands, and Earth]] |
| + | The portion of the regolith of a size less than 1cm is generally referred to as [[Lunar Soil]], and the dusty portion is referred to as [[Lunar Dust]] or "Fines. | ||
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Lunar regolith is the focus of many proposed methods if in-situ resource utilization including: | Lunar regolith is the focus of many proposed methods if in-situ resource utilization including: | ||
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*[[Radiation shielding]] | *[[Radiation shielding]] | ||
*[[Volatile scavenging]] | *[[Volatile scavenging]] | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Lunar Soil at Wikipedia.org [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil]<BR/> | Lunar Soil at Wikipedia.org [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil]<BR/> | ||
Revision as of 20:51, 8 January 2007
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The layer of debris which blankets most of the moon is commonly refered to as regolith. Billions of years of bombardment from space has created a highly comminuted (this means it has been broken into ever smaller grains and particles) surface through a process sometimes referered to as "impact gardening" or "space weathering." It is estimated that the regolith varies in thickness from 3 to 5 meters over the younger "maria" to approximatly 10 to 20 meters thick in the older "highlands." Below the impact regolith is a layer of "mega-regolith" consisting of highly fractered bedrock that is tens of kilometers thick.
The portion of the regolith of a size less than 1cm is generally referred to as Lunar Soil, and the dusty portion is referred to as Lunar Dust or "Fines.
Lunar regolith is the focus of many proposed methods if in-situ resource utilization including:
External Links
Lunar Soil at Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil
PERMANENT.com http://permanent.com/
ISRU on the Moon. by Larry Taylorhttp://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/LTaylor.pdf
