Lunar regolith is the unconsolidated material found on the surface of the Moon and in the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. Sometimes referred to as Lunar soil, Lunar soil specifically refers to the component of regolith smaller than 1 cm. It differs substantially in properties from terrestrial soil.

The term lunar soil is often used interchangeably with "lunar regolith" but typically refers to the finer fraction of regolith, that which is composed of grains one centimetre in diameter or less. Some have argued that the term " soil " is not correct in reference to the Moon because soil is defined as having organic content, whereas the Moon ...

2019年4月5日 · Lunar regolith is made up of rock chips, mineral fragments, impact and volcanic glasses and a peculiar component only found on the Moon called “agglutinates” (Figure 1). The ratio of these various components varies widely from one soil to the next (Figure 2). Figure 1. Photograph of a large size fraction of a lunar soil showing the various ...

2025年2月12日 · Lunar regolith covers virtually the entire surface of the Moon. Without blowing winds and flowing rivers to gently erode the lunar regolith, the dust particles maintain sharp, razor-like edges. This is also why until another impact erases them, one can still see the Apollo astronauts' boot prints on the lunar surface.

1 天前 · Michael Duke at the Lunar and Planetary Institute says that manufacturing moonglass-based solar cells will require many technological advancements, from excavating regolith to connecting ...

2023年1月28日 · The Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbed currently houses two large indoor “sandboxes” filled with tons of simulated lunar dust. With both testbeds, most areas on the Moon can be simulated with a high degree of accuracy. The facility’s first sandbox measures approximately 13 feet by 13 feet by 1.5 feet (4 meters by 4 meters by 0.5 meter) and is ...

Lunar Resources Oxygen is the most abundant element on the Moon –42% of the regolith Solar wind deposited volatile elements are available at low concentrations Metals and silicon are abundant Water may be available at poles Lunar mineral resources are understood at a global level with Apollo samples for calibration Mars Resources

2025年3月7日 · The lunar regolith has much to teach us, and it requires special precautions to explore. Explore Moon Dust Stories. 01 Measuring Moon Dust to Fight Air Pollution. Tech designed to protect astronaut health and critical technology from lunar dust is also helping to combat air pollution on Earth. This air-quality sensor system measures Moon dust ...

2 天之前 · Lunar regolith is extremely well classified and published from rock samples brought back to Earth from the Apollo programme. We compared this lunar composition with materials you can find here on ...

The lunar regolith is a complex mixture of five basic ingredients: crystalline rock fragments, mineral fragments, breccias, agglutinates, and glasses. The relative proportion of each type varies from one place to another and is dependent on the mineralogy of the source rocks and the geologic processes that the rock has undergone (Heiken et al ...