1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

THE MOON
Lacking an erosive atmosphere and geologically active outer layers,
the earth's lifeless satellite has preserved a record of early events
(but not the primordial events) in the history of the solar system

by

John

A.

Wood

topes oxygen

o prospect could be more exciting

ognized at present: the ongm of the

to an earth scientist than to see

moon, the separation of a crust, an early

18

16,

oxygen

17

and oxygen

vary measurably among rock samples

an entire new planet suddenly

epoch of volcanism, a period of bom

derived from different parts of the solar

opened up for study. The Apollo mis

bardment by massive planetesimals, a

system.

sions to the moon accomplished just that,

later epoch of volcanism and Rnally a

That observation does not much con

although considerations of national pres

decline of activity to the apparently

strain hypotheses on the origin of the

tige, not of science, had been the prin

quiescent stage of the present.

moon. It can still have been formed by

cipal reason for going there. At a cost

amounting to less than

percent of the

Rssion from the earth, by capture in

he origin of the moon is the stage

tact from a nearby independent orbit or

total for the Apollo program, the scien

T about

been

by accretion from small objects that

tiRc work associated with the program

learned. Few clues are offered by the

once traveled in orbit around the earth.

succeeded in transforming the moon

lunar samples, because they have all

The oxygen data, however, do rule out

from a cold distant circle of pallid whit

turned out to be geologically processed

the possibility that the moon was cap

ish material into a real, if small, planet

materials-rocks

made of more or less familiar rocky sub

were established by igneous processes in

formed

stances in which a record of past epochs

side the moon. (The point is made by

among the Jovian planets, for example,

of geologic activity is preserved.

analogy with the properties of igneous

or outside the solar system altogether.

which

the

least

whose

has

compositions

tured by the earth after having been

far

away,

near

Mercury

or

The scientiRc work involved many

rocks on the earth.) If the astronauts had

Second, when the lunar rocks are

people and approaches. It is symbolized

been able to collect samples of the primi

compared with terrestrial rocks or with

by the tools that were employed: micro

tive substance of the moon that had been

meteorites, they are found to be system

scopes, mass spectrometers, nuclear re

spared later transformation, much might

atically depleted in the more volatile

actors, magnetometers and seismometers

have been learned from them about the

chemical elements. The depletion can be

(the last left forever with their ear

formation of the moon. No such samples

seen in a comparison of elemental abun

pressed against the surface of the moon,

came to hand, however, probably be

dances in lunar and terrestrial basalts, to

listening to its internal rumblings). The

cause it is unlikely that any primitive

take one example

results of these studies can now be

material has survived the turbulent early

page 95].

pieced together into a reasonably co

history of the moon.

ondary igneous rocks, not samples of

[see illustration on

To be sure, basalts are sec

learned

planetary materials as they Rrst accreted,

about the conditions of the moon's ori

but compositional differences between

be learned, but in broad outline the

gin. First, the moon and the earth were

basalts from two planets should reflect

moon's life history has come to be un

formed in the same general region of the

differences in the composition of the

derstood almost as well as the earth's.

solar system. This conclusion is based

more primitive planetary materials from

which the basalts were derived.

herent picture of the composition and

evolution of the moon. Much remains to

Certain

things

have

been

The present conception of the moon

on the isotopic composition of oxygen

can perhaps be best summarized chrono

in the lunar samples, which is indistin

The terrestrial planets (Mercury, Ve

logically,

by discussing the principal

guishable from the composition of ter

nus, the earth and Mars) are currently

epochs or stages the moon appears to

restrial oxygen. The study of meteorites

understood to have ben formed by a

have passed through. Six stages are rec-

shows that the proportions of the iso-

process involving, Rrst, the condensation

of small mineral grains in the gaseous
nebula that is thought to have surround

118 kilometers by Alfred

Apollo 15. His vebicle stayed in

SURFACE OF THE MOON was photographed from an altitnde of

M.

Worden, pilot of tbe command and service module of

orbit around the moon while the other two astronauts in the crew were on the lunar sur
face. The cratering in this area, which is on the far side of the moon east of the crater
Tsiolkovsky, is typical of the entire lunar surface and reflects a period of bombardment by
planetesimals and meteoroids early in the evolution of the solar system. The crater in the
center of the photograph is about

19

kilometers in diameter. It is younger than its neigh.

bors, as is indicated by the bright "rays" of ejected material that overlie the nearby features.

ed the infant sun and, second, the me

chanical accretion of the mineral grains
into planets. As the initially hot nebu
la cooled, the most refractory minerals
would have condensed Rrst. Increasingly
volatile compounds would have precipi
tated subsequently.
If condensation and accretion pro-

93
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

ceeded

simultaneously,

circumstances

could have conspired to deliver variable

proportions

of

high-temperature

and

low-temperature condensates to the dif

ferent planets. For example, the objects
that began accreting first might be ex
pected to capture the greater part of the
early

(high-temperature)

condensates.

The discovery that the moon and the

earth contain quite different proportions
of high-temperature and low-tempera
ture elements makes it appear that such
fractionation did occur when the planets
were formed.
As for the actual mechanics of the
formation of the moon as a satellite of
THREE TYPES OF LUNAR ROCK appear on this page in micrographs made by trans
mitted light at an enlargement of 12 diameters. This micrograph shows a thin section of
basalt, which is the rock type found on the maria, or dark "seas" of the moon. The basalt
displays a pattern of interlocking silicate and oxide minerals that crystallized when a flow
of basalt cooled in Mare Imbrium. The rock specimen from which the thin section was
cut was brought back to the earth by the astronauts of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971.

the earth, the three possibilities I have

mentioned, which were recognized long
before the Apollo program, must still be
considered. In the opinion of many lu
nar scientists, however, some variant of
the model envisioning accretion in orbit
around the earth is the most likely to be
correct. The intact-capture model pre
sents difficulties concerning dynamics.
They can be summarized most simply
by noting that the orbit of one object
around another is symmetrical about the
line between them at the time of their
closest

approach.

If

the

moon

ap

proached the earth from some distant

point in the solar system, it would, after
its closest approach, recede to a similarly
great distance along an orbital path
nearly symmetrical with its approach
trajectory. Unless special assumptions
are made about a mechanism to slow the
moon down while it was in the vicinity
of the earth, it would not have been
"KREEP" NORITE is a second type of lunar rock, one of the two types that are found on
the lightcolored highlands of the moon. The letters KREEP refer to the mineral's relatively
high content of potassium (K) , rareearth elements (REE) and phosphorus (P). This speci.
men is a breccia, a conglomeration of mineral and rock fragments that resulted from the
shattering of the precursor material in the bombardment by massive meteoroids early in
moon's history. Rock from which section came was brought back by Apollo 14 astronauts.

captured.
The idea that the moon fissioned from
the early earth also presents difficulties.
A very high rate of spin at the beginning
must be assumed. After the rupture the
earth-moon system would be left with a
quantity of spin (angular momentum in
the physicist's terms) twice as large as
the quantity the system now has. Since
angular momentum is ordinarily con
served in dynamic systems, special as
sumptions have to be made to proVide
a mechanism that would have de-spun
the earth-moon system after fission.
If it seems preferable to adopt the
hypothesis that the moon accreted as it
was in orbit around the earth, where are
the accreting particles to have come
from? They probably condensed in the
solar system at large and were subse
quently captured in orbit around the
earth. It is easier to capture a large num
ber of small objects than it is to capture
a large, preformed moon.

ANORTHOSITIC ROCK is by far the most abundant type of rock on the moon. This speci.
men, a breccia consisting largely of plagioclase fragments, was brought back by Apollo
16 astronauts. For this micrograph polarizing filters were used to enhance the contrast.

94
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

Several

natural mechanisms

would

have acted to slow down small particles

so that they could be captured by the

10

earth. One is gas drag. The nebular gases

would have resisted and slowed the mo
tion of tiny particles but not of an ob
ject as massive as the moon. Another

SULFUR

mechanism is collisions between parti

cles. Approaching the earth from all di
rections,

some

particles

would

have

passed around it in a clockwise direc

MANGANESE.

TITANIUM
MAGNESIUM

IRON
CALCIUM

tion and others would have gone coun

terclockwise. Collisions between mem

SILICON .

bers of these two populations would

ALUMINUM

have slowed their forward velocities,

guaranteeing that the particles could
not recede from the earth. Collisions
would have continued until all the par
ticles either had lost enough velocity to
fall onto the earth or had been bumped
into orbits that were nearly Circular, lay
in a common plane and had the same
sense of rotation.
It has been estimated that the moon
could accrete from such a disk of parti
cles in as little as

1,000

years. Whether

or not it really formed as rapidly as that

is unclear. If small particles continued
to be captured into orbit around the

I
l
n::

GALLIUM

i1i

z
o
o
:;
C/)
w
U
z

o
z
::;)
m

u.

COPPER

LEAD

.1

SODIUM

GERMANIUM.

a much longer period of time, the addi

a
a
i=

INDIUM

RUBIDIUM

n::

SILVER

.01
CADMIUM .

course be correspondingly protracted. It

is also unclear why the accreting moon

would have captured more of the early

n order to discuss the internal evolution of the moon once it had formed,

of rock found on the moon. Although a

great variety of rock types were collect
ed by the Apollo astronauts, nearly all
the specimens can be put in one or an
other of three categories: mare basalt;
"KREEP" norite, which is named for its
unusually high content of potassium

(K),

rare-earth

phosphorus

elements

(REE)

and

GOLD

1.
'Tu,"

(high-temperature) condensate particles

it is necessary to take stock of the types

ZINC

THALLIUM

than the nearby earth.

POTASSIUM

earth from the solar system at large over

tion of particles to the moon would of

NICKEL

.001
o

500

1,000

2,000

1,500

CONDENSATION TEMPERATURE (DEGREES KELVIN)

COMPARISON OF BASALTS from the moon and the earth shows that the lunar rocks are
systematically depleted in the volatile elements that would have condensed at relatively
low temperatures when the solar system formed from a gaseous nebula. The chart shows
for each element the ratio of its abundance in the lunar basalts to its abundance in the ter
restrial basalts. The contrast suggests a process of fractionation that delivered more of the
early, high.temperature condensates to the objects in the solar system that accreted first.

(P), and the anorthositic

group. The mare basalt constitutes the

substance of the dark and relatively

Experience with igneous-rock systems

walled vessels and taken to temperatures

smooth lunar maria, or "seas," and the

other two rock types make up the

on the earth makes it possible to rec

and pressures appropriate to the interior

ognize two fundamentally different ig

of a planet. The important point to be

rugged, light-colored highlands.

neous processes that fractionate rock

gained by the inspection of this particu

chemically to produce new and different

lar diagram is that as the temperature is

None of the three can be considered

by any stretch of the imagination to be

compositions.

One is partial melting.

increased in a material whose composi

samples of primordial planetary materi

To appreciate that concept the reader

tion can be represented in' terms of a

abundances bear

should refer to the phase diagram at the

mixture of diopside and anorthite, the

little resemblance to the abundance pat

top of the next page, which illustrates

composition of the first liquid to appear

tern of metallic elements in the atmo

the behavior with changing tempera

is the same no matter what the propor

sphere of the sun or in chondritic mete

ture of a material whose composition

tions of diopside and anorthite are in the

orites, which are thought to be samples

can be expressed in terms of the propor

starting material.

of primitive planetary material. On the

tions of two end-member compounds.

Actual rocky materials in the earth

other hand, all three do resemble classes

(It is therefore a binary system.) Phase

and the moon are too complex to be rep

resented by a binary diagram; often

al. Their elemental

of igneous rocks found on the earth. It is

diagrams of this kind are established by

clear that igneouS processes in the moon

programs of careful experimentation, in

their

established the composition of the three

which charges having various composi

or more end-member compounds, and

categories of lunar rock.

tions simulating rocks are put in thick-

sometimes they cannot be adequately

phase

diagrams

involve

three

95
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

1.600

portrayed

$
::>

two-dimensional paper.

mains valid: The first melt to appear

iii

...J
W
()
U)
w
w
a:
Cl

on

Nonetheless, the point made above re

when a mass of rocky material is heat
ed has a characteristic composition.

1.400

w
a:
::>
f
..:
a:
w
Cl.
::;;

----------

When melting begins inside the

earth, it appears that usually the early
liquid does not remain long in the com
pany of the residual solid material. In
stead it tends to rise through the crust,
frequently erupting onto the surface as

1.260

1-------::,..----=_--___1

1.200

--'-''D_____________________--l
'--__________---'-''''-_________________

100

100

COMPOSITION (PERCENT)

DIOPSIDE (CaMgSi206)

ANORTHITE (CaAI2 Si20S)

PARTIAL MELTING as a process that chemically fractionates rock to produce different

compositions is described in this phase diagram. A material composed of the minerals diop.
side and anorthite in the proportions of 76 percent and 24 percent respectively remains
solid as the temperature is raised (AB), until at 1,260 degrees Celsius (B) a melt of com
position E appears. The melting is sufficient to eliminate solid anorthite. When the tem
perature rises further, the composition of the melt migrates (EC) as more and more resid
ual diopside is melted. At C the last solid residue disappears. An equivalent thing happens
if a solid containing different proportions of the minerals is heated, an example being 40
percent diopside and 60 percent anorthite (DF, EG). The key point is that for all starting
compositions in this binary system the first liquid to appear has the same composition (E).

lava. The composition of a terrestrial

lava is often found to correspond to the
low-melting composition for some par
ticular phase diagram. The end-member
compounds that define the diagram and
the pressure regime for which it is valid
can reveal the depth from which the
lava was derived and what materials
were present in the parent rock that gave
rise to it. Thus the nature of planetary
interiors can be probed by determining
lava compositions and relating them to
phase diagrams.
Returning to the trinity of lunar rock
types, it turns out that mare basalt and
KREEP

norite have characteristic low

melting

compositions

and

therefore

were produced by partial melting in the

2.000 I-----j

interior of the moon. They represent

later acts of lunar evolution and will be
discussed below. The anorthositic rocks,
however, have compositions far removed
from low-melting liquids. These rocks
must have been produced by the second

LIQUID

type of igneous process, which is crystal

1.8001------------------7""::..-----------j
$

fractionation.
When an igneous melt begins to crys

::>

tallize, the crystals that form generally

...J
W
()
U)
w
w
a:
Cl
w

do not have the same specific gravity as

w
a:
::>
f
..:
a:
w
Cl.
::;;
W
f-

to Hoat to the top. Layers can accumu

iii

the residual liquid does. If crystalliza

tion is not too rapid, dense crystals tend
to sink to the Hoor of the cooling system

1.600 r--------------------------------------------------__4
FORSTERITE AND LIQUID

and light crystals

(if

there are any) tend

late in which one mineral is greatly con

centrated.

The earth's crust contains

layered igneous structures in which crys

tal fractionation has obviously occurred.
Anorthositic rocks are characterized

1.400 ;;;;r::t=.======================::::;r.==================l
:::;

by a superabundance of one mineral:

plagioclase feldspar (CaAI2Si20s)' It is
easy to picture the formation of this type
of rock by crystal fractionation in pools
of lava on the moon. The difficulty is that

ANORTHITE AND LIQUID

1.260

1---------__4

1.200

'--____________________________--l

100
DIOPSIDE (CaMgSi2 06)

DIOPSI DE (CaMgSi20S)

COMPOSITION (PERCENT)

100
ANORTHITE (CaAI 2Si 20S)
FORSTERITE

(Mg2Si04)

PHASE DIAGRAMS for two mineral compounds are compared. If a system is definable in
terms of different endmember compounds, such as diopside and forsterite (color) instead
of diopside and anorthite (black), a different low.melting liquid (E) is produced when the
temperature is raised. Again, however, the composition of this low.melting liquid remains
the same regardless of proportions of the endmember compounds in the starting material.
.

96
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

the moon has vast amounts of anortho

sitic rock, which is overwhelmingly the
most abundant of the three classes of
lunar rocks. Apparently the entire crust
of the moon, to a depth of from

100

50

to

kilometers and over the entire sur

face, is anorthositic. Local fractionation

in lava pools would be totally inade
quate to manufacture such an amount of
anorthositic rock.
How can it be said that the moon has

SCIBNCB/SCOPB
The Orbiting Solar Observatory launched in June is gvng solar physicists
their best opportunity yet to study the complex region between the sun's sur
face and its corona, where temperatures soar from 10,000 to more than 3,000,
OOOoF.
Designated OSO-8, the 2400-lb. spacecraft was built by Hughes for
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Its stored command processor and small

experiment computer enable it to handle complex observation instructions.

Its two sun-pointed telesco pes,

which have a pointing stability of

1/36000,

will scan the sun's surface in 450-mile swaths.

OSO-8's instruments will also search the Mi l ky Way for celestial sources of
X-rays and observe X-ray binaries, which seem to consist of a

visible

star

and a small invisible companion -- possibly a "black hole".

The promise of electric propulsio n for interplanetary travel moved a step
closer with the recent completion of a record-setting endurance test on an
ion engine by Hughes Research Laboratories scientists.

The 30-cm mercury

electron bombardment ion thruster module, built for NASA's Lewis Research
Center,

was operated for 10,000 hours in a space-simulation chamber to

demon

strate the lifetime capability of the thruster and its critical components.
Ion engines are being considered both for primary propulsion systems for
spacecraft and for station-keeping and stabilizing functions for satellites.
Ion engine technology has already produced spinoffs including a high-voltage
DC circuit breaker deve loped by Hughes for use in electric power transmission
systems, as well as advanced ion implantat ion and ion sputtering techniques
used in micro fabrication processes.
Hughes offers professional engineering opportunities in the flexible printed

Appli

circuit and flat cable departments of its Connecting Devices Division.

cants should have design,

manufacturing, and process engineering experience

in these technical areas.

to: William J.
CA

92705.

Zahn,

Please send your resume,

including salary history,

Hughes Aircraft Company, 17150 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine,

An equal opportunity M/F employer.

To move a communications satellite back to its exact position on synchronous

orbit requires the firing of its position and orientat ion thrusters.
now,

300

Until

catalytic-decomposition hydrazine t hrusters could be started only 250 to

times before their performance began to fall off.

The Hughes HE-54,

new hydrazine thruster now undergoing a rigorous acceptance test,

been started

800

times without noticeable degradation.

40,000
over 800

has already

This has involved over

a million pulses and

seconds of steady-state operations, with propel

lant throughput of

pounds of hydrazine.

Testing is being continued

to determine the thruster's full life.

This dramatic improvement in performance was achieved by using a novel pro
pellant injector design, noble-metal catalyst bed screens, and a specially
processed catalyst.
heater,

the

HE-54

Because it does not have a conventional catalyst bed

is lighter,

consumes less power,

Creating. new world with electronics

r------------------,
,
,

: HUGHES:

,.
,
L __________________
HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY

1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

and is more reliable.

968
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

o Enclosed is check for $ _...,...._.-L_,

o 8ankAmericard # ---_+-
o or Master Charge
D Credit Card Expiration Date
".",,'*'
__

Name

____

o Altair 8800
0 Kit
0 Assembled
o OP!ions (l ist on separate sheet)
include $8 for postage and ha'ndling
DAltair Documentation Special
o Please send flle Altair catalog
-L________________

__________________

Address

L-___-________________ ____

______

96C
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

t!My tastes are very simple.

I only -want the

very best of everything.lO'
An eminent British prime

Maker's Mark was intended

It was never Bill Samuels'

minister was quoted as having

to be enjoyed in moderation.

desire to do so. Bill, founder

made that statement.

It is not, and never will be,

of Maker's Mark Distillery, is a

mass produced. It is made,

fourth-generation Kentucky

little at a time, slowly,

distiller who knew exactly

Well, we guess just about

everybody would like to have
the very best of everything.
But for most of us, that just
isn't possible. We can't afford a
Rolls-Royce {with chauffeur},
servants, summer and winter
homes, etc.

thoughtfully, and is meant to be

what he wanted when he

consumed in the same manner.

started making his own whisky

back in 1953.

Not for everyman.

So, Maker's Mark will never
compete for the mass market.

All he hoped for was to find

the pride of self-achievement
in making a whisky of singular
character for those few who

But it is interesting to note

that even those who can afford

understood whisky well

all those things still cannot

enough to enjoy a truly

buy or serve a better whisky

outstanding distillation.

than Maker's Mark.

And, as for the rest of us, no
matter what our means, we can
at least enjoy the very best

it tastes
expenSIVe

For you?

...andis.

Though it's not for every

man, it could very well be
for you.

of some things. One of those

things is love, another is compan

Free booklet.

ionship. And speaking more

When you're in our neck of

materially, another is whisky.

the woods, we cordially

Moderation is key.

invite you to visit our little

If you drink in moderation,

distillery on Star Hill Farm

then the extra cost of Maker's

near Loretto. Meanwhile,

Mark is amortized over quite a

if you have an interest in

period. We'd be the first to

the history of whisky-making

admit that immoderate drinkers

in the Bluegrass state, write

probably can't afford Maker's

for a free copy of our little

Mark. But then they really can't

afford any whisky, can they?

Made from on original old style

sour mash recipe by Bill Samuels,
fourth generation Kentuck.y Distiller.
Mak.er's Mark Distillery, Loretto, Ky.,
Ninety Proof-Fully Matured.

96 D
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

,"

booklet, "The Wonderful

World of Kentucky Whisky."

o
SUCCESSIVE LAVA FLOWS are evident in Mare Imbrium. They
can be recognized by the different amounts of cratering they have
undergone. At left Mare Imbrium appears in a Lick Observatory
photograph that provides orientation for the map at right but is at

too small a scale to show the density of cratering. Darkest color on

map represents the youngest lava flow, which is the one least af
fected by cratering. Lightest color represents oldest flow. Second
youngest and most extensive flow erupted 3.3 billion years ago.

so much of this material? After all, the

physical stations the shock waves gen

emitted by magnesium, aluminum and

Apollo astronauts only scratched the

erated by those impacts passed through

silicon in the lunar soil.

surface at six points on the near side

'
ot the moon. (In addition the un

several materials having a range of seis

Luna 16
Luna 2 0 sampled two points, and in
1968 the U. S. vehicle Surveyor 7, an

manned Russian spacecraft

and

Anorthositic rock has a characteris

tically high ratio of aluminum to silicon.

mic velocities.
When a model of the moon's crustal

The X-ray experiment showed that ma

structure is devised that is consistent

terial of this kind constitutes the sub

with the travel times of seismic waves

stance of most of the lunar highlands

unmanned lander, remotely analyzed

from all the various impacts to the sev

the detectors passed over. The finding

the soil at a single pOint in the southern

eral seismometers, it is found to involve

provides a basis for confidence that the

highlands.)

a discontinuity in the physical proper

60

highlands in general are anorthositic in

ties of the rock at a depth of about

character, although one could wish to

ne can generalize about the compo

kilometers. Above that depth the seismic

confirm the fact by studying samples

sition of the crust to a considerable

velocities are consistent with the ve

collected on the far side of the moon

locities in anorthositic rock. Below

and in the polar regions.

depth because, although the astronauts

kilometers

higher (about eight kilometers per sec

basin-forming impacts delved tens of

ond compared with about

6.5 kilometers

only

cooling melt, and if the layer of anortho

kilometers deep and scattered the ex

per second above that level). The ve

sitic rock produced by this process is

cavated debris on the surface. Much of

locity below

approximately

the material collected by the astronauts

to a rock type of higher density. Pre

the entire surface of the moon, one is

must have had this origin, and the ma

sumably that is the material of the lunar

forced to poshllate the existence early

terial is dominantly

mantle.

The

seismic

velocities

are

If anorthositic rock can be formed

could not dig deep, earlier cratering im

pacts on the moon had done so. Huge

anorthositic.

the

60

60 kilometers is appropriate

by crystal

50

fractionation from a

kilometers thick over

in lunar history of a layer of magma on

a heroic scale-a veritable ocean

of

moon could not have kept another rock

The moonwide extent of anorthositic

type hidden under a thin veneer of

rock has been confirmed by remote geo

anorthositic material; cratering activity

chemical analysis performed by instru

the surface of the moon. The present

would have stripped the veneer away

ments carried by the command and

lunar crust must have separated from

long ago.

service modules of

Apollo 15

and

Apollo

white-hot melted rock that once covered

the hellish bath as it cooled. It is ques

tionable whether

crystallizing

plagio

tual measure of the thickness of the lu

16. (The command and service module is

the vehicle in which the third astronaut

nar crust on the near side. All the Apollo

remained, traveling in orbit around the

the surface of this rocky ocean, because

missions left functioning geophysical sta

moon while the other two astronauts

the specific gravity of plagioclase and

tions on the moon. Most of the stations

explored the lunar surface.) The vehicle

of residual magma would have been

include

kept a battery of sensing instruments

nearly the same. If, however, the other

continuously transmit a record of seis

trained on the lunar terrain.

Among

crystallizing minerals sank (they would

mic disturbances to the earth. Seismic

them was a detector sensing secondary

have been rich in iron and magnesium

Signals were gener'lted during the Apollo

X rays being emitted by elements in the

and certainly denser than the liquid), the

missions by deliberately crashing spent

lunar soil as a result of stimulation by

net effect would have been to concen

spacecraft onto the moon at preselected

primary X rays from the sun. The de

trate plagioclase near the top of the sys

points. On the way to the various geo-

tector discriminated between X rays

tem, thus accounting for the plagioclase-

Seismic studies have provided an ac

passive

seismometers,

which

clase would have actively floated up to

97
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

30' 1------'

15'

,(:)

COPERNICUS
0'

15' 1-----+_----_4--+_--_r--

30' 1------_4--+-

90'

60'

30'

0'

30'

NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY in the lunar soil was detected by

a gammaray spectrometer in the command and service module of
Apollo 15 and ApoUo 16. The radioactivity is due to the decay of

60'

uranium, potassium 40 and thorium. The radioactivity in the most

strongly colored regions of the map corresponds to the presence of
about .3 percent potassium and seven parts per million of thorium.

rich (anorthositic) character of the pres

ated. The separation of the lunar crust

lion years ascribed to the origin of the

ent cool, solid crust of the moon.

probably occurred soon after the moon's

solar system and the planets in it. The

The act of crust separation was the

formation.

radiometric ages probably do not, how

That concept is not clearly supported

ever, reflect the time when the highland

second stage of lunar history. All the

terrestrial planets, including the ear th,

by the ages of lunar anorthositic samples

rocks

may have passed through a similar stage,

based on the decay of radioactive ele

everits reset the radiometric clocks of

although the record of the earth's pri

ments. Those ages are about four billion

the rocks.

mary crust has long since been obliter-

years, compared with an age of

4.6

bil-

were

formed.

Later

energetic

The most compelling reason for plac-

(jJ
a:
w
IW

100
0

-'

g
I
le..
w
0

200

300

INTERNAL EVOLUTION OF THE MOON is summarized. The

process involves melted rock (dark color), the lunar mantle (light

color) and the crust (gray). The numbers refer to the six evolu.
tionary stages discussed in the text. The stages are surface melting

98
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

MARE MOSCOVIENSE
.'<!'-.

?;

'?:\,------+----- ------------.--ir---------l 30'

15'

0'

II
MARE ORIENTALE

15'

120'

150'

180'

The scale proceeds from dark color to light color. The regions
that are portrayed in the lightest color represent concentrations
of approximately .1 percent potassium and .3 part per million of

150'

120'

1800

thorium. The Apollo 15 vehicle. which was in an inclined orbit.

generated the sinusoidal pattern. The Apollo 16 vehicle was in a
nearly equatorial orbit and therefore generated a flatter pattern.

ing the separation of the lunar crust at

considerable speed and kinetic energy.

been conserved and would have melted

the beginning is that it is easiest then to

The kinetic energy would have been

picture why the surface layers of the

converted to heat on impact. If lunar ac

the outermost several hundred kilome

ters of the moon. It is hard to explain ex

moon might have been molten. Planetary

cretion proceeded more rapidly than

tensive surface melting at any later time;

origin is likely to have been a violent

the normal state of affairs in a planet is

to an object having a substantial gravi

heat could be dissipated (the reader will

recall that accretion could have been
completed within 1,000 years), the heat

tational field would have arrived with

resulting from the impacts would have

process. Particles or subplanets accreting

for the surface, which is exposed to

space, to be cool.
The third stage in the moon's history

(j)
100

a:
w
f-

....J

I
f
Cl.
W
o

200

300
as moon formed (1). separation of a lowdensity crust by crystal
fractionation (2). origin of KREEP norite by partial melting in the

deep crust (3). intensive cratering (4). the origin of the mare ba.
salts by partial melting in the upper mantle (5) and quiescence (6).

1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

99

saw the appearance of the KREEP norite.

sweated out of the parent rock before

rock type remains one of the most im

This material's content of the major ele

the liquid was separated and concen

portant and puzzling questions of lunar

ments is not extraordinary, but. its con

trated in bodies of KREEP-norite magma

science.

tent of certain minor and trace elements

or lava.

such as potassium, phosphorus, barium,

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of

the rare earths, uranium and thorium is

KREEP norite is its localized occurrence

from

higher than that of

on the lunar surface. Gamma-ray de

jor planetesimals on the surface of the

the lunar anorthositic rocks. As I have

tectors on the orbiting command and

moon. Our picture of the origin of the

50 to 100 times

mentioned,

norite has a low

service modules sensed high concentra

solar system involves the gradual as

melting composition and probably was

tions of radioactive elements in the broad

produced by partial melting in the lunar

area of Mare Imbrium and Oceanus

sembly of small particles and accretions

of particles into the present array of

interior. The appropriate phase diagram

Procellarum, particularly at the points

planets and satellites. The early solar

has

where

system must have been an untidy place

as

KREEP

he fourth act of lunar history con-

Tsisted of an epoch of impacts by ma

ena-member

components the

light-colored

highland

terrain

same minerals that are found in lunar

protrudes through the layer of mare

until the loose debris was swept up;

anorthositic rocks. The diagram is also

basalt that generally covers the area.

meanwhile the debris bombarded the

valid at relatively low pressures. Ap

Evidently these highland regions con

young planets ceaselessly. The crater

parently the most suitable site for the

sist of KREEP norite (which, as I have

pocked surfaces of the lunar highlands

production of KREEP norite was in the

noted, is rich in uranium, thorium and

bear witness to that early barrage of in

anorthositic crust, after it had separated.

potaSSium) rather than of anorthositic

terplanetary

The minor and trace elements that are

rock. It appears that at some time after

character of the highland rocks, which

enriched in KREEP norite have in com

the formation of the anorthositic crust

are almost uniformly breccias: agglom

mon rather large ions (atoms in the

of the moon, but before the eruption of

erations of broken mineral and rock

fragments. Pulverization from impacts

projectiles.

So

does

the

crystal structure that have gained or lost

the mare basalts that now blanket the

electrons). Such ions are not easily ac

area, a KREEP-norite lava flooded this

has obliterated any textural evidence the

commodated in the crystal structure of

one section of the moon.

old highland rocks once had of their

the major minerals in anorthositic rock.

The source of the heat needed to part

As a result these elements would have

ly remelt anorthositic crustal material is

origin in large-scale crystal fractionation

or as lavas erupted onto the surface.

been among the last to solidify when the

not known, nor is the reason the eruption

Major impacts not only fracture rock

anorthositic system cooled, and they

was concentrated in one area. It is tempt

but also heat it. Severe heating of a rock

would be among the first to be remobi

ing to postulate that one huge planetesi

has the effect of erasing any straight

lized if it were heated up again. The

mal impact prOvided the, energy and the

forward isotopic record the rock has of

high concentration of large-ion elements

basin, but a crater as large as Oceanus

the time when it was formed, that is,

in KREEP norite is therefore consistent

with the hypothesis that the norite was
produced by partial melting in anortho
sitic rocks. The concentration of large

Procellarum would have stripped the

when it was endowed with its present

crust away entirely in some areas and

chemical composition. The isotopic clock

promoted wholesale melting elsewhere.

is reset, so to speak. That is the interpre

It would not have promoted the small

tation placed on the ages of lunar high

ion elements also implies that only the

degree of partial melting needed to gen

land rocks. The age of four billion years

first small percentage of liquid had been

erate KREEP norite. The origin of this

at which they tend to cluster is not the

<

TO EARTH

LITHOSPHERE
MANTL E

o
,

500
,

1.000
,

SCALE (KILOMETERS)
PROPERTIES OF LUNAR INTERIOR are portrayed. The dis
tinction between crust, mantle and core (left) is based on differ
ences in composition and specific gravity of rocks. The distinction
between lithosphere and asthenosphere (right) is based on rigid-

ity (and therefore temperature) as indicated by seismic waves.

Compressional waves (solid lines) from deep moonquakes (dots)
pass through all material. Shear waves (broken lines) are attenu
ated by a nonrigid medium. They indicate a soft and warm zone.

100
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

time when they were formed; there is

isotpic evidence (of a somewhat equiv
ocal character) that both anorthositic
and noritic lunar materials are older
than four billion years. Some violent,
high-temperature

process

reset

their

clocks four billion years ago.

The violent events in question were
almost certainly the colossal impacts
that excavated the huge circular mare
basins in the lunar crust. Debris from
the impacts blanketed much of the near
side of the moon. Many of the highland
samples collected must have been in
volved in these impacts and heated by
them.
Apparently

new

population

of

planetesimals was set loose in the solar

system four billion years ago, resulting
in a cataclysmic surge of cratering on
the moon and other planets. It is also
possible, however, that cratering activity
was even more intense in the period
prior to four billion years ago. Perhaps
the early surface history of the moon
was so violent that rock ages were con
stantly being erased, and not until four
billion years ago did cratering activity
decline to a point where rocks had a
good chance of remaining undisturbed
until the present day.

N.

ter the rain of planetesimals had

abated, or perhaps while it was

diminishing, the moon entered the fifth

phase of its history. In this period vast
Hoods of lava erupted on the moon's sur
face, Howing into the basins previous
ly excavated by planetesimal impacts.
There the lava solidified, forming the
dark plains that appear to the unaided
eye as smudges on the moon.
The mare lavas did not erupt in one
pulse of volcanic activity. They con
tinued to issue from the lunar interior for
a period of almost a billion years. As a
result the mare surfaces are a compli
cated patchwork of overlapping lava
Hows

[see illustration on page 97].

Mare basalts are variable in compo

sition as well as age. The oldest samples
collected tend to have the highest con
tent of titanium. It appears that they
were produced by partial melting at a
depth of

150

kilometers or more and

that the less titaniferous basalts were

generated later at greater depths

(240

kilometers or more).
The source of basalt seems to have
deepened with time. The phenomenon
can be explained by the fact that the
originally hot surface must have cooled
rapidly by the radiation of heat to space,
whereas the interior grew increasingly
warmer through the decay of radioactive
elements. The net effect must have been

101
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

to cause the peak temperature to migrate

inward with time.
The final stage of lunar history is
quiescence. By the time the mare basalts
erupted the density of major planetesi
mals in the solar system had fallen so
low that large impacts ceased to be an
important contributor to surface activ
ity. That is why the maria have main
tained such a smooth appearance to the
present day. (They look smooth from a
distance; close up they are seen to be
pocked with small craters, the effect of
continuing bombardment by the lesser
meteoroids that have always been vastly
more abundant than major planetesimals
in interplanetary space.)
Internal disturbances as well as ex
ternal ones have diminished during the
last chapter of lunar evolution.

The

outermost shell of relatively cool and

therefore rigid rock-the lithosphere

Venita
has known
a lot of
suffering.

grew thicker as heat continued to be

lost from the surface. By the time the
youngest

of

the

mare

basalts

were

erupted the lithosphere had grown suf

ficiently thick and strong to resist sag
ging under the weight of the basalt
Hows.
More or less plastic masses of rock
tend to sink or rise into positions of buoy
ant equilibrium. Where such movement
is prevented by the brute strength of
cold, rigid rock, and dense masses are
held at unnaturally high elevations, the
masses cause irregularities in the gravity
field of a planetary surface. Such irregu
larities

Venita is a shy little girl with big, dark

eyes. You can see by her wistful expres
sion that she has known much suffering
in her short life in India.
She hardly remembers her parents. Her
mother was in ill health when Venita was
born. She died when Venita was only two
years old.
Her father earned very little and lived
in one room in a tenement in Delhi. He
was unable to support and care for the
frail little girl. He asked a children's
Home, affiliated with the Christian Chil
dren's Fund, to take care of his daughter.
There is still a sad, haunting look that
lingers in Venita's dark eyes. But she's
improving. Gradually she's losing her
shyness, and she smiles and plays with
other children who share the same room
at the Home.
Venita now has the care she needs. Her
CCF sponsor here in this country is help
ing give her a better chance for a useful,
happy life.
But there are many other needy chil
dren still waiting for sponsors.
You can sponsor such a child for only
$ 1 5 a month. Just fill out the coupon and
send it with your first monthly check.
You will be sent the child's photo
graph, name and mailing address, plus a
description of the project where the child
receives assistance.

You may write to your sponsored child

and your letter will be answered. You will
get the child's original letter and an
English translation. (Children unable to
write are assisted by family members or
staff workers.)
Your love can make a big difference in
the life of a needy little child. Please fill
out the coupon now . . .
Sponsors urgently needed in B r a z i l ,
India, Guatemaia, Indonesia, Kenya and
Thailand.
Write today : Verent

J.

Mills

CHRISTIAN CHILDREN'S FUND, Inc.

Box 26511, Richmond, Va. 23261

I wish to sponsor a 0 boy 0 girl in

(Country)' __---,,.,...-...._...,.,.:;---=cc
o Choose any child who needs my
help. I will pay $ 1 5 a month. I enclose
. Send me
first payment of $
c h i l d ' s n a m e , m a i l i n g a d d ress a n d
picture.
I cannot sponsor a child but want to
.
give $
o Please send me more information .
Name_____________

are

termed

positive

gravity

anomalies. It was already known before

the Apollo program that positive gravity
anomalies were associated with the cir
cular maria; the mass concentrations
("m a scons") in those maria had revealed
themselves by deHecting the trajectories
of orbiting spacecraft.
By now the lunar lithosphere has
grown to a thickness of about
ometers.

1,000

kil

The depth of the transition

from the rigid lithosphere to the inner

most, plastic asthenosphere can be read
from the behavior of the seismic waves
generated by moonquakes in the deep
lunar interior

1 00].

[see illustration on page

The presence of such a mighty

armored layer on the moon absolutely
prohibits fracturing of the lithosphere,
jostling of fragmental plates and the
transport of lava from the asthenosphere
to the surface-processes that occur un
ceasingly on the earth, where the litho

70 to 150 kilometers

Address, ___________

sphere is only from

City____________

thick. Vitality in the moon has retreated

Zip ___

to a small central zone. To all intents

State

Member of International Union fOT Child

Welfare, Geneva. Gifts arc tax deductib1e.
Canadian s : Write 1 407 Yonge, Toronto, 7.

5S2890

1 02
1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

and purposes that body-once the scene

of thermal, chemical and mechanical ac
tivity on a gigantic scale-is dead.

MIN.
315

HONOLULU

---

.. -
---. -... .....

.-

..

DAIlY DC-10 SERVICE TO MANILA:

THE CROSSROADS OF THE ORIENt
The Ph i l i ppi nes. Over 7 , 0 0 0

Ta i p ei : 1 05 m i n utes. Si ngapore or

unspoi led islands stretchi ng across a

B a ng kok b etween brea kfast and l unch.

thousa nd m i l es of the Pacific. S k i n diving

Tokyo . . . or Sydney and Mel bourne

among the reefs of the S u l u S e a . A

i n hours. Our routes stretch from Ma n i l a

cottage on a b each that's you rs a lone.

Golf on uncrowded courses. Shopping

to Sa n Fra ncisco on the east . . . a nd

to Amsterdam on the west. A nd we

for a ntiq ues and artifacts. All at prices so

ca n get you to a l most every major city

low you ' l l find them hard to bel i eve.

in between. Phi l i ppine Airl i n e s

We offer you the Ph i l i ppi nes. Crossroads

offers you a better approach to the

of the Ori ent. And one of the last g reat

Orient. Ask your travel agent . Or, ca l l

travel ba rga ins in Asia .

us yourself.

From the Phi l i ppi nes, w e offer you

the Orient. Hong Kong : 90 m i n utes.

Da i l y De W service to Ma n i l a , then
on to the Orient . . . a nd the worl d .

1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

r- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l
I

I
I

P H I L I PPI N E A I R L I N E S

T O U R D E PARTME NT

: 212
I

STOCKTON S T R E E T

SAN F RANCISCO, CA 9 4 1 0 8

NAME

__

__
__
__

__

__
__

__

__

__

ADDRESS ___________________
CITY

______
__
__
__
__
__
__
___

STATE
I

__
__
__
__

T E LEPHONE

ZIP

__

__
__
__
_

S9! _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

1975 Pol a roid Corporation

Pol a roid SX-70'

Now you can g et

heavenly close-ups Ii\"\e this,
on the spot.
With the SX:70.
A l l you need is a telescope and a

telesco pe eyepiece, you a re a ssured

t i o n s of e x ce l l e nt q u a l ity ca n be

te lescope ada pter for the Polaroid

that your photogra ph wi l l i nclude

obta i n e d .

SX-70 Land Ca mera. And you can

the enti re viewing fie l d .

p h oto g r a p h the mo o n , sun a n d

Final ly, beca u se a stro-photogra

T i m e e x p o s u re s of u p to 1 4 sec

p h y is s u s ce pti b l e to so m a n y

planets ( not t o mention such earth

onds a re long enough for a l most

p ro b l e m s ( s u ch a s a t m o s p h e r i c

bound subjects a s a mounta i n goat

all planeta ry photography.

cha nges a n d telescope vibrations)

on a n i n a cce ssible cra g , or the orna

m e ntati o n o n a b u i l d i n g

3 miles

SX-70 Land fi l m del ivers highly

it's especi a l ly co mforti ng to be able

accu rate color reproductio n under

to see your photograph on the spot.

a wide vari ety of atmospheric and

I f someth i n g has gone wron g , you

With t h e ada pte r, y o u c a n attach

e x p o s u re co n d i ti o n s . ( O n e s o l a r

ca n re-shoot to correct it. I n stead of

the SX-70 to a l most any telescope.

a uthority ca l l s it " t h e m o s t true

s i mply moo n i n g a bout.

T h i s pro v i d e s a n u m b e r of a d v a n

r e n d i ti o n of the hydrog e n -a l p h a

For fu l l data o n the te l e s cope

ta g e s ,

color that I have yet t o see:') A n d

a d a pte r for the SX-7 0 , write to

beca use t h e fi l m has v i rtua l ly no

R o b e rt

g ra i n , enlarge ments a n d reproduc-

Brooklyn,

away ) .

pa rti cu l a r l y f o r

a ma te u r

a stronomers:
With our sing le-lens reflex as the

Another use for the Polaroid

5X-70

t o almost a ny
telescope.

1975 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC

T. L i tt l e C o . , P. O . B o x E,
NY 1 1 202.

Camera.