Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sen Hu, Huicun He, Jianglong Ji, Yangting Lin, Hejiu Hui, Mahesh Anand, Romain Tartese, Yihong Yan, Jialong Hao, Ruiying Li, Lixin Gu, Qian Guo, Huaiyu He, Ziyuan Ouyang
Summary: This study analyzed samples returned from the surface of the Moon to reveal the water content and hydrogen isotope compositions of the Moon's youngest volcanic activities. The results suggest that the Moon's youngest volcanism was not driven by abundant water in its mantle source, but rather by previous volcanic activities causing dehydration of the mantle.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
P. O'Brien, S. Byrne
Summary: A novel three-dimensional landscape model was developed to study the space weathering processes of lunar regolith, revealing that materials typically spend only a few million years on the lunar surface due to vigorous mixing by small-scale impacts. By comparing modeled surface residence times with measurements of space weathering maturity, the rate of space weathering and the timescale for regolith to reach maturity on the lunar mare were estimated.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Maxim Isachenkov, Svyatoslav Chugunov, Zoe Landsman, Iskander Akhatov, Anna Metke, Andrey Tikhonov, Igor Shishkovsky
Summary: This study characterizes a lunar regolith simulant material developed by the University of Central Florida, which is considered suitable for regolith-focused additive manufacturing technologies. The simulant's mineral, chemical, fractional composition, morphology, and optical properties were analyzed using various methods such as XRF, XRD, SEM, and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy. The results show that the simulant mimics the primary properties of the original lunar regolith and can be potentially used for ISRU research tasks.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ping Zhou, Zhe Zhao, Guangyuan Wei, Hongyuan Huo
Summary: This paper extracts the mineral composition and distribution characteristics of lunar regolith using visible and near-infrared spectra, and establishes a highly accurate and stable prediction model, which is of great significance for optimizing the inversion of mineral content in lunar regolith using spectral data.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
B. D. Byron, C. M. Elder, J-P Williams, R. R. Ghent, C. L. Gallinger, P. O. Hayne, D. A. Paige
Summary: Irregular mare patches (IMPs) in the lunar maria are enigmatic features that appear anomalously young compared to surrounding areas. This study examines the thermophysical properties of eight large IMPs using data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The results suggest that IMPs have slightly rockier surfaces and lower thermal inertia, indicating less consolidation or smaller rocks compared to typical regolith. However, further research with higher spatial resolution is needed.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ashley R. Clendenen, Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Brant M. Jones, Peter G. Loutzenhiser, Daniel T. Britt, Thomas M. Orlando
Summary: Water and molecular hydrogen evolution from Apollo sample 14163 and lunar regolith simulants LMS-1 and LHS-1 were studied. LMS-1, LHS-1, and Apollo 14163 released water upon heating, whereas only the Apollo sample directly released measurable quantities of molecular hydrogen. The resulting H2O and H-2 TPD curves were fit using a model, and the most probable H2O formation and desorption effective activation energy were determined to be around 150 kJ mol(-1) for all samples.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Maxim Isachenkov, Svyatoslav Chugunov, Andrey Smirnov, Anastasia Kholodkova, Iskander Akhatov, Igor Shishkovsky
Summary: Lunar regolith is considered the most abundant resource on the Moon's surface and is a prime candidate for future manned exploration and resource harvesting missions. Additive manufacturing with lunar regolith is a promising method for sustainable local production of engineering tools and components. The study found that the grinding time of lunar regolith significantly influences their optical properties, affecting the determination of the optimal grinding procedure.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Robert Calvo, Paul Fuierer
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of lunar regolith and the dry aerosol deposition (DAD) method to produce ceramic coatings on polyimide polymer, and to test their mechanical integrity. The study found that DAD-LMS coatings significantly increased the hardness and indentation modulus of the Kapton surface, and improved its apparent modulus of elasticity and bending resistance to some extent. Heat treatment reduced the bending strain of coated substrates.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Brant M. Jones, Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Charles A. Hibbitts, Thomas M. Orlando
Summary: By conducting TPD experiments on Apollo lunar sample 15221, researchers found that water and hydrogen from lunar regolith contribute a minor amount to the observed mass in the LCROSS impact event. The abnormal amount of molecular hydrogen observed in the ejecta plume may be due to radiolytic production of H-2 from physisorbed water.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Mihail P. Petkov, Gerald E. Voecks
Summary: This work presents an experimental vacuum setup designed for sintering lunar regolith simulants and characterizing volatile species released from the decomposition of non-lunar components. The study highlights the importance of temperature and pressure in regolith sintering and emphasizes the need for high-vacuum capabilities due to high gas loads generated by the simulants. The use of mass spectrometry allows for the identification of specific released gas species and their potential as markers for thermally activated processes.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Li, Zifeng Yuan, Zhiguo Meng, Jinsong Ping, Yuanzhi Zhang
Summary: A unified framework of T-B feature analysis is proposed through a case study of Mare Fecunditatis on the Moon. T-B maps are generated and all T-B features are evaluated systematically using various analytical approaches. The contributions of each T-B feature to basalt classification are quantitatively evaluated, and principal component analysis is applied to reduce the dimension of the features. A new geological map of Mare Fecunditatis is generated using CELMS data and a random forest classifier. These results are of great importance in utilizing CELMS data to study lunar basalt basins.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sungwoo Lim, James Bowen, Giulia Degli-Alessandrini, Mahesh Anand, Aidan Cowley, Vibha Levin Prabhu
Summary: Our experiment found that higher microwave powers can generate materials with the highest yields and strongest microstructures in the shortest fabrication times. Thermal runaway improves the efficiency of microwave heating once triggered, which is crucial for future lunar ISRU demonstration missions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Deborah Domingue, John Weirich, Frank Chuang, Amanda Sickafoose, Eric Palmer
Summary: This study presents evidence for a correlation between lunar swirls and topography, indicating that these features are not independent of elevation differences. The findings have implications for understanding dust mobility and the formation mechanisms of swirls on the Moon's surface.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Roberta Licheri, Roberto Orru, Elisa Sani, Aldo Dell'Oro, Giacomo Cao
Summary: This study investigates the potential of sintered lunar regolith simulant for solar energy harvesting and thermal energy storage applications, finding that sintered pellets have higher solar absorptance and thermal emittance compared to pristine powders.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Peter J. Collins, Jennifer Edmunson, Michael Fiske, Aleksandra Radlinska
Summary: This study characterized five different lunar regolith simulants in detail and used the data to create geopolymer concrete samples for testing and analysis. The results showed that these simulant samples are feasible for concrete technology, but their performance varies due to differences in their mineralogy, amorphous content, and particle size and shape distributions.
ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH
(2022)