1. Exploring NASA’s Moon Rocks, Lunar Soil Samples & Meteorite Disks!!
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Exploring NASA’s Moon Rocks, Lunar Soil Samples & Meteorite Disks!!

2. Lunar Surface Features
Two dramatically different kinds of terrain:
Highlands: Mountainous terrain, scarred by craters
Light gray/older
Lowlands: ~ 3 km lower than highlands; smooth surfaces:
Dark gray/younger
Maria (pl. of mare):
Basins flooded by lava flows

3. Impact Cratering
Impact craters on the moon can be seen easily even with small telescopes.
Ejecta from the impact can be seen as bright rays originating from young craters

4. Impact Cratering = ‘Soil’ formation
Impacts of objects hitting the moon have pulverized the moon’s crust to physically break down the rocks to make smaller sand & clay sized particles called lunar soil or ‘Regolith’.

5. No sedimentary rocks => No sign of water ever present on the moon.
Moon Rocks
All moon rocks brought back to Earth are igneous (= solidified lava)
No sedimentary rocks => No sign of water ever present on the moon.
Different types of moon rocks:
Vesicular (= containing holes from gas bubbles in the lava) basalts, typical of dark rocks found in maria
Breccias (= fragments of different types of rock cemented together), also containing anorthosites (= bright, low-density rocks typical of highlands)
Older rocks become pitted with small micrometeorite craters

6. Moon Rock Sample Disk

7. Moon Rock Samples
Basalt
Breccia
Anorthosite

8. Lunar Soil Sample Disk

9. Lunar Soil Samples Lunar Soil - Orange Lunar Soil - Maria
Lunar Soil - Highlands

10. Meteorite Sample Disk

11. Meteorite Samples 1-3
EET83227
ALH90411
ALLENDE

12. Meteorite Samples 4-6
GIBEON
LEW87030
BRENHAM