Lunar soil

Lunar soil or lunarsol 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 continuous meteoric impacts and bombardment by 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.

Composition

Lunar soil is composed of various types of particles including rock fragments, mono-mineralic fragments, and various kinds of glasses including agglutinate particles and tiny beads formed by volcanic activity. The agglutinates form at the lunar surface by micrometeorite impacts that cause small amounts of the lunar surface to melt, and this molten material then quickly re-solidifies and adheres to the surrounding particles.

Properties

The physical properties of lunar soil are primarily the result of mechanical disintegration of basaltic and anorthositic rock, caused by continuous meteoric impacts and bombardment by interstellar charged atomic particles over years. This has two effects: a "gardening" process that continually mixes the surface layer of the soil, and a gradual reduction of the size of the soil particles.

Uses

Lunar soil has been suggested for use as construction material to build structures on the Moon. This could save the enormous cost of launching construction materials from Earth. The lunar soil, although it poses major dust problems, could be mixed with carbon nanotubes and epoxies in the construction of structures like a lunar base.

See also

• Regolith
• Moon
• Basalt
• Anorthosite

References

Lunar soil Resources
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