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SOIL PARTICLES
Lunar
soil contains fragments of the major lunar rock types: basalt
(A), anorthosite (B), and breccia (C). In addition, round glass particles
(D) are common. The fragments that make up lunar soil are the products
of the ceaseless bombardment of the Moon by meteoroids which smash and
grind rocks into soil and weld soil into new rocks.
LUNAR SOIL TEXTURE
The texture
of undisturbed lunar soil can be seen in this close-up photograph,
which shows the soil enlarged about 35 times. This soil is composed of
aggregates, clumps of small particles 0.1-0.6 millimeters (4/1000-24/1000
inch) in diameter.
GREEN GLASS
Most lunar glassy materials were created by the shock of meteoroid impacts.
However, the green
glass particles shown here probably had a different origin.
The uniformity of their size and composition suggests that they were formed
in lava fountain eruptions.
ORANGE GLASS
Orange
glass spheres, like the green glass spheres, originated in
lava fountains. The glass in the spheres shown here has begun to crystallize
into dark, needlelike crystals.
  Apollo
17 Soil
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