• Discovered three new menerals from Lunar Meteorite, Dhofar 280.

HAPKEITE* *Approved by the International Mineralogical Association

This is one of the three new lunar minerals (FeSi, Fe2Si, FeSi2) that we have discovered in a lunar meteorite (Dhofar 280). We have named the Fe2Si phase as Hapkeite, in honor of Prof. Bruce Hapke of the University of Pittsburg. He predicted the presence of vapor-deposited nanophase Fe particles on the surface of Lunar soil grains in 1973, over 25 years before its importance was realized. This is the major cause for complications in the spectral reflectance properties of Lunar soils. Anand, M, Taylor, L.A., Nazarov, M.A., Shu, J., Mao, H.-K., and Hemley, R.J., 2004, Space weathering on airless planetary bodies: Clues from the lunar mineral hapkeite, PNAS 101: 6847-6851.

• Lunar Mare Basalts and Highland Rocks:

  Since the first Apollo samples were returned from the Moon (before you were born, for most readers), Prof. Taylor's enthusiastic study of lunar rocks and soils continues to this day at a high pace, adequately funded by NASA. The lunar studies are work-intensive, involving rocks from both the six U. S. Apollo and the three Soviet Luna missions, as well as recently discovered lunar meteorites. Yet, considerable new knowledge on the evolution of the Moon's crust is forthcoming every year, particularly with regards to the nature of the lunar mantle and crust, the petrogenesis of the various mare basalts, and the origin and evolution of the highlands' lithologies.

• Lunar Soils:
  It is the surface coatings of heavenly bodies, their regolith and soil, that are seen by the reflectance spectra, not the rocks. And the soils on airless bodies are the direct result of 'space weathering'. The Lunar Soil Characterization Consortium, which Taylor coordinates, is actively using the mare and highland soils as ground-truth for dicyphering lunar reflectance data. These studies, in collaboration with colleagues at Johnson Space Center and Brown Univ., are providing critical refinement on this major method of remote sensing. In addition, these detailed mineralogical and chemical characterizations form the basis for revolutionary new insights into the formation of lunar soils.

• Lunar and Martian Meteorites:
  It is now realized that rocks can be ejected from the Moon and Mars, only to land on Earth as meteorites. Taylor has a collaboration with several Russian meteoriticists from the Vernadsky Institute funded by a NASA grant. The Russians search for meteorites in the desert areas of Oman; they have been successful in finding many lunar and Martian meteorites, which they bring to Taylor's Labs for study. This has opened up a whole new source of these invaluable samples.

• Lunar Resource Utilization:
  With the recent surge of enthusiasm concerning the possibility of a lunar base leading to a permanent human presence on the Moon, Professor Taylor has become involved in evaluations of resource potentials on the Moon, the production of lunar simulants, and the beneficiation of lunar soil for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). His former experiences in Economic Geology and Materials Engineering have proven valuable here, and he has received two patents for unique processing of lunar soil. These are very exciting times for lunar and martian resource utilization studies.

Heating/Sintering/Melting of Microwave Lunar Soils

Taylor, L.A., Schmitt, H.H., Carrier, W.D., and Nakagawa, M, 2005, The lunar dust problem: From liability to asset, AIAA, 2510-2518.

Taylor, L.A. and Meek, T.T., 2004, Microwave processing of Lunar soil. Proceedings Intl. Lunar Conf. 2003/ILEWG5, American Astronautical Society108(Sciences & Technology Series), 109-123.

Roads

Landing pads for shuttles

Radiation Insulation

Building blocks

Oxygen Production

Volitile Recovery

Lunar Regolith Simulants

Chemical properties (with nanophae Fe)

Physical properties

Mechanical properties

Lunar Soil morphology and Particle Size Distribution

Statistical Analysis

Larry's Page

Dept. Earth & Planetary Sci.

PGI

UT