Apollo 17 tagged posts

Advanced analysis of Apollo Sample Illuminates Moon’s Evolution

Image of slide 46 of 76535 taken with a polarized light microscope. Credit: Nelson et al., 2021

Sophisticated analysis of a rock sample taken from the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission revealed new information about the complex cooling and evolutionary history of the Moon. The findings, from University of Hawai’i (UH) at Manoa researchers, were published today in Nature Communications.

Apollo 17 astronauts collected the rock sample troctolite 76535 from the Moon’s surface in 1972, and it remains one of the most scientifically valuable samples of the Moon due to its pristine nature. Further, the rock type is widespread on the Moon and likely contains important clues to understanding lunar formation.

William Nelson, lead author of the study and Earth Sciences graduate student in th...

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