What materials are found on the moon?

Answer 1

From Apollo, we know that the moon has large supplies of silicon, iron, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, titanium and oxygen BUT the Moon lacks light elements (volatiles), such as carbon and nitrogen, although there is some evidence of hydrogen near the north and south poles.

1. fewer than 100 different types of minerals have been found on the moon, in contrast to several thousand found on earth
2. Lunar basalts differ from their terrestrial counterparts principally in their high iron contents, which typically range from about 17 to 22 wt% FeO.
   
3. Magnesium and iron rich zones found in the lunar highlands are usually associated with large impact basins, not highland terrain.
   
4. titanium
   1. lunar basalts possess a stunning range of titanium concentrations (present in the mineral ilmenite), ranging from less than 1 wt% TiO2, to about 13 wt.%.
      
   2. Traditionally, lunar basalts have been classified according to their titanium content, with classes being named high-Ti, low-Ti, and very-low-Ti.
      
   3. global geochemical maps of titanium obtained from the Clementine mission demonstrate that the lunar maria possess a continuum of titanium concentrations, and that the highest concentrations are the least abundant.
      
   4. Overall, there is much less of the element titanium in the Apollo 12 samples than in the Apollo 11 samples, which explains the more reddish color of this region.
      

lunar rocks and main types (a rock is defined as an aggregate of one or more minerals):

1. from vulcanism--basalts
   1. dark (black or gray) FINE-grained rocks, rich in iron and titanium
   2. Basalts are dark-colored rocks solidified from molten lava.
      
   3. They are a common type of volcanic rock on Earth and are found in places such as Hawaii.
      
   4. formed by successive lava flows that filled the moon's giant basins between 3.8 and 3.2 billion years ago
      
   5. The Apollo 12 basalts formed from material that melted at depths of at least 150 to 250 kilometers below the surface and then ascended to the surface prior to solidifying.
      
   6. the Sea of Tranquility, from evidence of a piece of rock found to be basalt from Apollo 11, was a plain of congealed lava
      
   7. Apollo 12 revealed that the lunar basalts came from different time periods--a span of a billion years or so, indicating an extended period of vulcanism
      
   8. mineral components are largely
      1. pyroxene--ABSi2O6 where the A and B are 'variables'--A as magnesium, iron, calcium or sodium and B as magnesium, iron or aluminum
         
      2. olivine--Mg2SiO4 to Fe2SiO4
         
      3. ilmenite--FeTiO3--composed of titanium and iron oxide, or rust, and contains oxygen that is relatively easy to extract. (Hubble found evidence of this in certain areas on the moon)
         
      4. Basalt consists primarily of the minerals pyroxene and plagioclase (ehhhh? this latter--plagioclase--is found in anorthosites (the primordial crust))
2. from impacts--these rocks result from grains "welded together":
   1. breccias
      
   2. 1. COARSE-grained rock
      2. composed of angular fragments of pre-existing rocks
         
      3. from BIG impacts
         
      4. breccias were rocks formed by meteorite impact--a mixture of rock and soil fragments welded together; breccias were formed when angular fragments from older rocks were broken, melted, and cemented together by powerful meteorite impacts
         
   3. agglutinates
   4. 1. from SMALLER impacts
         
      2. small soil-sized particles in which several other soil particles are glued together by a glassy groundmass (NB: soil-sized refers to grains less than 1cm in diameter)
         
      3. micrometeorites strike the soil and the kinetic energy melts some of the grains
         
      4. they're usually less than 1mm in diameter
         
      5. usually contain tiny droplets of iron metal (sometimes too small to be seen even under optical microscope)
         
      6. contain solar wind gases, including helium and hydrogen
         
      7. ca 25% to 30% of a lunar soil sample is in the form of agglutinates
         
      8. the agglutinate ratio INCREASES over time in a parcel of soil
         
   5. anorthosites
      1. comprise much of the lunar highlands
         
      2. older and lighter than mare rocks and rich in aluminum and feldspar
         
      3. formed as part of the original lunar crust between 4.5 and 4.0 billion years ago
         
      4. these rocks are composed primarily of plagioclase
         
      5. a type of rock that is composed almost completely of plagioclase feldspar
         
      6. plagioclase feldspar--a mineral that "ranges" in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAlSi2O8
         
      7. white, and even green
         
      8. anorthoste rocks are composed primarily of the mineral, plagioclase, which scientists think was the main constituent of the primordial lunar crust
         
      9. 'genesis rock' from Apollo proved to be 4.5 billion years old, nearly as old as the moon itself
         
   6. KREEPs
      1. falling between the basalts and anorthosites in age
         
      2. rich in potassium (K), contain a high amount of rare-earth elements (REE) and phosphorous (P)
         
      3. these rocks are basaltic and are the most highly radioactive material found on the moon
         
      4. contain uranium and thorium
         
      5. these seem to be consolidated to regions around Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Imbrium (aka the Procellarum KREEP Terrane)--this concentration of "heat producing" elements (read: radioactive?) are probably responsible for the longevity and the intensity of volcanism on the nearside of the moon
         
   7. natural glass
      1. is quite common on the moon
      2. may be the result of breccia-forming impacts creating enormous heat
         
         1. recognized by uniform chemical composition and the presence of a surface coating of condensed gases
            
         2. lunar fire fountains, for example, produced deposits of orange and green glass beads (aka pyroclastic glass)
            
      3. may be the result of "lava glass"
         
      4. 3-5% of lunar soil consists of impact glasses w/o any "inclusions" (minerals in suspension?) and which are not part of an agglutinate
         
      5. HASP glasses--high-alumina silica-poor glasses
         
      6. it would stand to reason there would be fewer far-side 'glass spheres' since most volcanism occurred on the near side (owing to its weaker crust)?
         

The Moon also holds "foreign" metals (like nickel) etc... imported from asteroid impacts over the ages.

Answer 2

Moon rocks fall into two main categories, based on whether they underlie the lunar highlands (terrae) or the maria. The lunar highlands rocks are composed of three suites: theferroan anorthosite suite, the magnesian suite, and the alkali suite (some consider the alkali suite to be a subset of the mg-suite). The ferroan anorthosite suite rocks are composed almost exclusively of the mineral anorthite (a calic plagioclase feldspar), and are believed to represent plagioclase flotation cumulates of the lunar magma ocean. The ferroan anorthosites have been dated using radiometric methods to have formed about 4.4 billion years ago. The mg- and alkali-suite rocks are predominantly mafic plutonic rocks. Typical rocks are dunites, troctolites, gabbros, alkali anorthosites, and more rarely, granite. In contrast to the ferroan anorthosite suite, these rocks all have relatively high Mg/Fe ratios in their mafic minerals. In general, these rocks represent intrusions into the already-formed highlands crust (though a few rare samples appear to represent extrusive lavas), and they have been dated to have formed about 4.4--3.9 billion years ago. Many of these rocks have high abundances of, or are genetically related to, the geochemical component KREEP. The lunar maria consist entirely of mare basalts. While similar to terrestrial basalts, they have much higher abundances of iron, are completely lacking in hydrous alteration products, and have a large range of titanium abundances. Astronauts have reported that the dust from the surface felt like snow and smelled like spent gunpowder. The dust is mostly made of silicon dioxide glass (SiO2), most likely created from the meteors that have crashed into the Moon's surface. It also contains calcium and magnesium.

Answer 3

Some of the main materials found on the moon's surface include rocks, dust, and regolith (a layer of loose, fragmented material covering solid rock). These materials primarily consist of silicate minerals like plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene. Additionally, traces of metals such as iron and titanium have also been discovered.

Answer 4

Igneous and breccias from impact material solidification.

Answer 5

The surface of the moon is mostly basalt while the interior is probably peridotite.

Answer 6

Moon rock is made up of granite, along with interlying piecies of glass and crystal, and varying other minerals.

Answer 7

Rocks, soil and ice

Answer 8

volcanic rock