Preliminary Geological Findings on the BP-1 Simulant

The following is a summation of information and discussion between Doug Stoeser of the USGS and Doug Rickman of NASA in February and March, 2010 pertaining to the BP-1 simulant. The analytical results and the bulk of the text are from communications from Dr. Stoeser. The BP-1 simulant is made from Black Point Basalt Flow, San Francisco Volcanic Field, northern Arizona. There is an aggregate (road metal) quarry on the northern margin of the flow towards the west end that was used as a Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) analog test site. Silty material from this site was also used in laboratory tests and found to have geotechnical properties similar to the LHT-2M and Chenobi regolith simulants and is being proposed as a possible simulant for geotechnical use. It currently has the designation of BP-1 (Black Point 1). Figur

Particle Shape and Composition of NU-LHT-2M

Particle shapes of the lunar regolith simulant NU-LHT-2M were analyzed by scanning electron microscope of polished sections. These data provide shape, size, and composition information on a particle by particle basis. 5,193 particles were measured, divided into four sized fractions: less than 200 mesh, 200-100 mesh, 100-35 mesh, and greater than 35 mesh. 99.2% of all particles were monominerallic. Minor size versus composition effects were noted in minor and trace mineralogy. The two metrics used are aspect ratio and Heywood factor, plotted as normalized frequency distributions. Shape versus composition effects were noted for glass and possibly chlorite. To aid in analysis, the measured shape distributions are compared to data for ellipses and rectangles. Several other simple geometric shapes are also investigated as to how they plot in aspect ratio versus Heywood factor space. The bulk of the data previously reported, which were acquired in a plane of projection, are between the ellipse and rectangle lines. In contrast, these data, which were acquired in a plane of section, clearly show that a significant number of particles have concave hulls in this view. Appendices cover details of measurement error, use of geometric shapes for comparative analysis, and a logic for comparing data from plane of projection and plane of section measurements

Beneficiation of Stillwater Complex Rock for the Production of Lunar Simulants

The availability of pure, high calcium plagioclase would be a significant asset in any attempt to manufacture high-quality lunar simulants. A suitable plagioclase product can be obtained from materials obtained from the Stillwater Complex of Montana. The access, geology, petrology, and mineralogy of the relevant rocks and the mill tailings are described here. This study demonstrates successful plagioclase recovery from mill tailings produced by the Stillwater Mine Company. Hydrogen peroxide was used to remove carboxymethyl cellulose from the tailing. The characteristics of the plagioclase products are shown and locked grains are identified as a limit to achievable purity. Based on the experimental results, flowsheets were developed showing how these resources could be processed and made into 'separates' of (1) high calcium plagioclase and (2) orthopyroxene/clinopyroxene with the thought that they would be combined later to make simulant

Manufacturing High-Fidelity Lunar Agglutinate Simulants

The lunar regolith is very different from many naturally occurring material on Earth because it forms in the unique, impact-dominated environment of the lunar surface. Lunar regolith is composed of five basic particle types: mineral fragments, pristine crystalline rock fragments, breccia fragments, glasses of various kinds, and agglutinates (glass-bonded aggregates). Agglutinates are abundant in the lunar regolith, especially in mature regoliths where they can be the dominant component.This presentation will discuss the technical feasibility of manufacturing-simulated agglutinate particles that match many of the unique properties of lunar agglutinates

Sources and Transportation of Bulk, Low-Cost Lunar Simulant Materials

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has built the Lunar Surface Testbed using 200 tons of volcanic cinder and ash from the same source used for the simulant series JSC-1. This Technical Memorandum examines the alternatives examined for transportation and source. The cost of low-cost lunar simulant is driven by the cost of transportation, which is controlled by distance and, to a lesser extent, quantity. Metabasalts in the eastern United States were evaluated due to their proximity to MSFC. Volcanic cinder deposits in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona were recognized as preferred sources. In addition to having fewer green, secondary minerals, they contain vesicular glass, both of which are desirable. Transportation costs were more than 90% of the total procurement costs for the simulant material

Generation of Requirements for Simulant Measurements

This TM presents a formal, logical explanation of the parameters selected for the figure of merit (FoM) algorithm. The FoM algorithm is used to evaluate lunar regolith simulant. The objectives, requirements, assumptions, and analysis behind the parameters are provided. A requirement is derived to verify and validate simulant performance versus lunar regolith from NASA s objectives for lunar simulants. This requirement leads to a specification that comparative measurements be taken the same way on the regolith and the simulant. In turn, this leads to a set of nine criteria with which to evaluate comparative measurements. Many of the potential measurements of interest are not defensible under these criteria. For example, many geotechnical properties of interest were not explicitly measured during Apollo and they can only be measured in situ on the Moon. A 2005 workshop identified 32 properties of major interest to users. Virtually all of the properties are tightly constrained, though not predictable, if just four parameters are controlled. Three parameters (composition, size, and shape) are recognized as being definable at the particle level. The fourth parameter (density) is a bulk property. In recent work, a fifth parameter (spectroscopy) has been identified, which will need to be added to future releases of the FoM

Figures of Merit Software: Description, User's Guide, Installation Notes, Versions Description, and License Agreement

Figures of Merit (FoMs) and the FoM software provide a method for quantitatively evaluating the quality of a regolith simulant by comparing the simulant to a reference material. FoMs may be used for comparing a simulant to actual regolith material, specification by stating the value a simulant s FoMs must attain to be suitable for a given application and comparing simulants from different vendors or production runs. FoMs may even be used to compare different simulants to each other. A single FoM is conceptually an algorithm that computes a single number for quantifying the similarity or difference of a single characteristic of a simulant material and a reference material and provides a clear measure of how well a simulant and reference material match or compare. FoMs have been constructed to lie between zero and 1, with zero indicating a poor or no match and 1 indicating a perfect match. FoMs are defined for modal composition, particle size distribution, particle shape distribution, (aspect ratio and angularity), and density. This TM covers the mathematics, use, installation, and licensing for the existing FoM code in detail

Analysis of The Surface Radiative Budget Using ATLAS Data for San Juan, Puerto Rico

The additional beating of the air over the city is the result of the replacement of naturally vegetated surfaces with those composed of asphalt, concrete, rooftops and other man-made materials. The temperatures of these artificial surfaces can be 20 to 40 C higher than vegetated surfaces. This produces a dome of elevated air temperatures 5 to 8 C greater over the city, compared to the air temperatures over adjacent rural areas. Urban landscapes are a complex mixture of vegetated and nonvegetated surfaces. It is difficult to take enough temperature measurements over a large city area to characterize the complexity of urban radiant surface temperature variability. The NASA Airborne Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) operates in the visual and IR bands was used in February 2004 to collect data from San Juan, Puerto Rico with the main objective of investigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in tropical cities

Lunar Regolith Simulant User's Guide

Based on primary characteristics, currently or recently available lunar regolith simulants are discussed from the perspective of potential experimental uses. The characteristics used are inherent properties of the material rather than their responses to behavioral (geomechanical, physiochemical, etc.) tests. We define these inherent or primary properties to be particle composition, particle size distribution, particle shape distribution, and bulk density. Comparable information about lunar materials is also provided. It is strongly emphasized that anyone considering either choosing or using a simulant should contact one of the members of the simulant program listed at the end of this document

Notes on Lithology, Mineralogy, and Production for Lunar Simulants

The creation of lunar simulants requires a very broad range of specialized knowledge and information. This document covers several topic areas relevant to lithology, mineralogy, and processing of feedstock materials that are necessary components of the NASA lunar simulant effort. The naming schemes used for both terrestrial and lunar igneous rocks are discussed. The conflict between the International Union of Geological Sciences standard and lunar geology is noted. The rock types known as impactites are introduced. The discussion of lithology is followed by a brief synopsis of pyroxene, plagioclase, and olivine, which are the major mineral constituents of the lunar crust. The remainder of the text addresses processing of materials, particularly the need for separation of feedstock minerals. To illustrate this need, the text includes descriptions of two norite feedstocks for lunar simulants: the Stillwater Complex in Montana, United States, and the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. Magnetic mineral separations, completed by Hazen Research, Inc. and Eriez Manufacturing Co. for the simulant task, are discussed