Exolith Simulant: LHS-1 Lunar Highlands Simulant
Mineralogy
| Component | Wt.% |
|---|---|
| Anorthosite | 74.4 |
| Glass-rich basalt | 24.7 |
| Ilmenite | 0.4 |
| Pyroxene | 0.3 |
| Olivine | 0.2 |
Bulk Chemistry
Because LHS-1 is a mineralogical standard, the bulk chemistry of simulants created from the standard will differ depending on the crystal chemistry of the source minerals used. Below, we report the latest analysis for the production version of LHS-1.
| Oxide | Wt.% |
|---|---|
| SiO2 | 44.18 |
| TiO2 | 0.79 |
| Al2O3 | 26.24 |
| Cr2O3 | 0.02 |
| FeOT | 3.04 |
| MnO | 0.05 |
| MgO | 11.22 |
| CaO | 11.62 |
| Na2O | 2.30 |
| K2O | 0.46 |
| SO3 | 0.1 |
| Total | 100.00 |
Physical Properties
Particle size range: 0-1 mm
Mean particle size (by volume): 94 μm
Bulk density*: 1.30 g/cm3
*Note that bulk density is not an inherent property and depends on the level of compaction
Particle size distribution:
Current Status: Available
Developed By: University of Central Florida
Available From: ExolithSimulants.com
Spec Sheet: LHS-1 Spec Sheet (PDF)
Publications: N/A
The LHS-1 Lunar Highlands Simulant has been developed by the CLASS Exolith Lab. It is a high-fidelity, mineral-based simulant appropriate for a generic or average highlands location on the Moon. The simulant is not made of a single terrestrial lithology, but accurately captures the texture of lunar regolith by combining both mineral and rock fragments (i.e., polymineralic grains) in accurate proportions.
The particle size distribution of the simulant is targeted to match that of typical Apollo soils. LHS-1 does not currently simulate agglutinates or nanophase iron. However, our agglutinated simulant, LHS-1-25A, does simulate agglutinates characteristic of an intermediately mature Lunar Highlands Regolith. Custom simulated agglutinate mixes are also available upon request.
Images
Photograph of LHS-1:
Photograph of Apollo 16 soil core tube 60014:
SEM micrograph of LHS-1 (courtesy of NASA JSC):
