A Quick Lunar History

Micrometeorite erosion: One of many kinds of space weathering common on the Moon, Apollo 16 sample of lunar breccia steadily "smoothed" by exposure to the conditions in the part of the inner-Solar System occupied by Earth is recorded on the Moon. The immediate surface of the Moon is "gardened," re-worked every two million years (Apollo 16-NASA: Sample A64455).

In preparing for the Lunar Regolith/Simulant Workshop in Huntsville, this past March, Jennifer E. Edmunson of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center put together a clear, mostly jargon-free "history of the Moon," showing "explanations for the importance of understanding lunar history for engineers and users of lunar simulants. Included are summaries of the initial impact that is currently in favor as explaining the moon's formation, the crust generation, the creation of craters by impactors, the era of the lunar cataclysm, which some believe effected the evolution of life on earth, the nature of lunar impacts, crater morphology, which includes pictures of lunar craters that show the different types of craters, more recent events include effect of micrometeorites, solar wind, radiation and generation of agglutinates. Also included is a glossary of terms.

Download the pdf HERE.