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Lunar soil is the fine fraction of the regolith found on the surface of the Moon. Its properties can
differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil. The physical properties of lunar soil are primarily the
result of mechanical disintegration of basaltic and anorthositic rock, caused by continual meteoric
impacts and bombardment by solar and interstellar charged atomic particles over years. The
process is largely one of mechanical weathering in which the particles are ground to finer and finer
size over time. This situation contrasts fundamentally to terrestrial soil formation, mediated by the
presence of molecular oxygen (O2), humidity, atmospheric wind, and a robust array of contributing
biological processes. Some have argued that the term soil is not correct in reference to
the Moon because on Earth, soil is defined as having organic content, whereas the Moon has none.
However, standard usage among lunar scientists is to ignore that distinction.
The term lunar soil is often used interchangeably with lunar regolith, but typically refers to only the
finer fraction of regolith, that which is composed of grains 1 cm in diameter or less.[1] Lunar
dust generally connotes even finer materials than lunar soil. There is no official definition of what
size fraction constitutes "dust"; some place the cutoff at less than 50 μm in diameter, while others at
less than 10 μm.
Contents
1Formation processes
2Mineralogy and composition
3Properties
4Moon dust fountains and electrostatic levitation
5Harmful effects of lunar dust
o 5.1Present availability
6See also
7References
8External links
Formation processes[edit]
Orange soil found on Apollo 17, the result of volcanic glass beads
Comminution: mechanical breaking of rocks and minerals into smaller particles by meteorite
and micrometeorite impacts;
Agglutination: welding of mineral and rock fragments together by micrometeorite-impact-
produced glass;
Solar wind sputtering and cosmic ray spallation caused by impacts of ions and high energy
particles.
These processes continue to change the physical and optical properties of the soil over time, and it
is known as space weathering. In addition, fire fountaining, whereby volcanic lava is lofted and cools
into small glass beads before falling back to the surface, can create small but important deposits in
some locations, such as the orange soil found at Shorty Crater in the Taurus-Littrow valley by Apollo
17, and the green glass found at Hadley-Apennine by Apollo 15.[citation needed] Deposits of volcanic beads
are also thought to be the origin of Dark Mantle Deposits (DMD) in other locations around the
Moon.[2]
Relative concentration (in weight %) of various elements on lunar highlands, lunar lowlands and Earth
Properties[edit]
A short video of a Lunar Roving Vehicle kicking up lunar regolith (Apollo 16, 1972)
The significance of acquiring appropriate knowledge of lunar soil properties is great. The potential for
construction of structures,[3] ground transportation networks, and waste disposal systems, to name a
few examples, will depend on real-world experimental data obtained from testing lunar soil samples.
The load-carrying capability of the soil is an important parameter in the design of such structures on
Earth.
Due to myriad meteorite impacts (with velocities in the range of 20 km/s), the lunar surface is
covered with a thin layer of dust. The dust is electrically charged and sticks to any surface it comes
in contact with. The density of lunar regolith is about 1.5 g/cm3.[4] The soil becomes very dense
beneath the top layer of regolith. Other factors which may affect the properties of lunar soil include
large temperature differentials, the presence of a hard vacuum, and the absence of a significant
lunar magnetic field, thereby allowing charged solar wind particles to continuously hit the surface of
the Moon.
This effect was anticipated in 1956 by science fiction author Hal Clement in his short story "Dust
Rag", published in Astounding Science Fiction.[6]
A piece of regolith from Apollo 11 presented to the Soviet Union and exhibited in the Memorial Museum of
Astronautics in Moscow
There is some evidence for this effect. In the early 1960s, Surveyor 7[9] and several prior Surveyor
spacecraft that soft-landed on the Moon returned photographs showing an unmistakable twilight
glow low over the lunar horizon persisting after the Sun had set.[6] Moreover, the distant horizon
between land and sky did not look razor-sharp, as would have been expected in a vacuum where
there was no atmospheric haze. Apollo 17 astronauts orbiting the Moon in 1972 repeatedly saw and
sketched what they variously called "bands," "streamers" or "twilight rays" for about 10 seconds
before lunar sunrise or lunar sunset. Such rays were also reported by astronauts aboard Apollo 8,
10, and 15. These may have been similar to crepuscular rays on Earth.[6]
Apollo 17 also placed an experiment on the Moon's surface called LEAM, short for Lunar Ejecta and
Meteorites. It was designed to look for dust kicked up by small meteoroids hitting the Moon's
surface. It had three sensors that could record the speed, energy, and direction of tiny particles: one
each pointing up, east, and west. LEAM saw a large number of particles every morning, mostly
coming from the east or west—rather than above or below—and mostly slower than speeds
expected for lunar ejecta. In addition, the experiment's temperature increased to near 100 degrees
Celsius a few hours after each lunar sunrise, so the unit had to be turned off temporarily because it
was overheating. It is speculated that this could have been a result of electrically-charged moondust
sticking to LEAM, darkening its surface so the experiment package absorbed rather than reflected
sunlight.[8] However, scientists were unable to make a definite determination of the source of the
problem, as LEAM operated only briefly before the Apollo program ended.[10]
It is possible that these storms have been spotted from Earth: For centuries, there have been reports
of strange glowing lights on the Moon, known as "Transient lunar phenomena" or TLPs. Some TLPs
have been observed as momentary flashes, now generally accepted to be visible evidence of
meteoroids impacting the lunar surface. But others have appeared as amorphous reddish or whitish
glows or even as dusky hazy regions that change shape or disappear over seconds or minutes.
These may have been a result of sunlight reflecting from suspended lunar dust.[8]