Mössbauer studies of Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 lunar soils

Abstract

Four soil samples from the Lunar regolith at Fra Mauro and five from Hadley Rille have been examined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The proportions of the total iron content in different minerals have been established. Measurements on a series of mineral concentrates from one of the Fra Mauro soils show that the dense opaque minerals occur as inclusions in the lighter silicates and glasses, and that some of the iron–nickel alloy inclusions are apparently ‘paramagnetic’ in behaviour. The soils from the rim of Hadley Rille prove to be characteristically different from those of the mare basin and the Appenine front. The degree of vitrification is much less than in soils from Fra Mauro.