Jan 5 1970
From The Space Library
NASA launched two Nike-Cajun sounding rockets carrying GSFC grenade experiments. One was launched from Churchill Research Range; other was launched from Wallops Station. Rockets and instruments functioned satisfactorily. (SR list)
ERC announced development of silicon carbide diode that had survived and functioned over temperature range of 889 K (1600°F)from 978 K (+ 1300°F) to 89 K (-300°F). Diode was believed to be first of its kind to withstand extremely high temperatures while performing effectively as detector of high-frequency radiation at frequencies to 10 billion cps and would be operable at Venus surface temperatures-about 700 K (800°F). Diode was developed by ERC's Richard Farrell. (ERC Release 70-1)
Time magazine named "the Middle Americans" its Men and Women of the Year: "They sent Richard Nixon to the White House and two teams of astronauts to the moon. They were both exalted and afraid. The mysteries of space were nothing;,. compared with the menacing confusions of their own society. Middle Americans admired "men like Neil Armstrong and, to some extent, Spiro Agnew." Apollo 11 and 12 were "a quintessential adventure of American technology and daring." Astronauts were "paragons of Middle American aspiration. Redolent of charcoal cookouts, their vocabularies an engaging mix of space jargon and 'gee whiz,' the space explorers gave back to Middle America a victory of its own values. It was little noted, except in Middle America where such things still matter, that among Neil Armstrong's extraterrestrial baggage was a special badge of his college fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. He used it symbolically to establish Moon Alpha Chapter." Some liberals had "grumbled that the Apollo program's $26 billion would have been better spent on curing hunger or the urban malaise." Yet Middle Americans "reveled in the lunar landings precisely because they were victories purely accomplished; in Vietnam, in the carious slums, in the polluted environment, no clear victories seemed possible any longer." (Time, 1/5/70, 10-2)
Chicago Tribune article blamed Apollo program for demise of USAF's Project Blue Book UFO study: "Wonderful as the saucers were, the moon shots probably killed them. The idea of little men with bulbous heads and wagging antennae landing ... wasn't a bit more amazing than the spectacle of human beings traversing space and walking the surface of a dead world. And, in addition, the latter was undoubtedly true." (C Trib b, 1/5/70)
Dr. Max Born, nuclear physicist and corecipient of 1954 Nobel Prize in physics, died at age 87. (NYT 1/6/70, 1)
January 5-9: Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference at MSC presented results of first systematic studies of lunar samples by more than 500 scientists from nine countries. Samples from Tranquility Base consisted of basaltic igneous rocks; microbreccias, which were mechanical mixture of soil and small rock fragments compacted into coherent rock; and lunar soil. Soil was mixture of crystalline and glassy fragments with small fragments of iron :meteoroids. Most rock fragments derived from larger igneous rocks-probably once part of underlying bedrock. Some crystalline fragments might have come from Highlands near Tranquility site.
Rocks and fragments in soil showed evidence of surface erosion from hypervelocity impacts accompanied by local melting, splashing, evaporation, and condensation. Crystalline rocks ranged from fine-grained vesicular to vuggy, medium-grained equigranular. Most common minerals found were pyroxene, plagioclase, ilmenite, olivine, and cristobalite. Three new minerals occurring in igneous rocks were pyroxmanganite, ferropseudobrookite, and chromium-titanium spinel. Free metallic iron and troilite, rare on earth, were common accessory minerals in igneous rocks. Silicate minerals were unusually transparent because of complete absence of hydrothermal alteration. Tests had shown that, at time of crystallization, observed phases could have coexisted only in very dry, highly reducing system in which oxygen pressure was estimated to be 10-13 atmospheres-more than five orders of magnitude lower than for typical terrestrial basaltic magmas. Melting experiments indicated 98% of primary igneous liquid crystallized in 1483-1333 K (1210-1060°C) temperature range with minor interstitial liquids continuing to crystallize down to 1223 K (950°C). Microscopic and microprobe examinations had produced evidence for existence of interstitial liquid rich in potassium and aluminum, which probably was immiscible with main liquid. Viscosity of lunar magmas was calculated an order of magnitude below that of terrestrial basaltic magmas. This characteristic might be significant in explaining textural features, differentiation mechanisms that produced chemical composition, and morphological features of lunar seas. Chemical compositions of all igneous rocks were similar except for concentration of potassium, rubidium, cesium, uranium, thorium, and barium. These elements distinguished two groups of igneous rocks, with fine-grained rocks containing more than coarse grained rocks.
All rocks had high concentrations of titanium, scandium, zirconium; hafnium, yttrium, and trivalent rare earth elements, and low concentrations of sodium. Low abundance of europium was striking feature of igneous rocks. Composition of soils and breccias was similar to but distinguishable from igneous rocks. Igneous. rocks contained at least one other "rock" component distinct from lunar basalts sampled. Soil was rich in nickel and volatile elements-cadmium, zinc, silver, gold, copper, and thallium-that occurred in carbonaceous chondrites. Enrichment was consistent with observed occurrence of meteorite material in soil. Many elements that occurred in low abundance in lunar igneous rocks were strongly enriched in terrestrial crustal rocks that were product of igneous differentiation. It had been suggested that low abundance of these elements derived from residual lunar liquids was indication that whole moon was depleted in number of volatile elements. If inference was correct; it could be inferred that lunar material separated from high-temperature, dispersed nebula at 1273 K (1000°C) or higher. Coincidence of high abundance of titanium, separation of europium from other rare earth elements, and separation of barium and strontium suggested igneous liquids were end product of fractional crystallization process or, less likely, that they were produced by partial melting and subsequent segregation of liquid in lunar interior.
High-pressure and temperature experiments had shown that materials with chemical composition of Tranquility Base basalts would, at conditions inferred for lunar interior, have densities exceeding moon's average density. Therefore, basalts could not represent moon's bulk composition. Age of basaltic crystalline rock was determined at 3.7 billion yrs. Igneous rocks were melted and crystallized about 10 billion yrs after moon's formation. Single exotic rock fragment had yielded age of 4.4 billion yrs and indicated variability in age between different areas on lunar surface. Relatively young basalts showed moon had not been completely dead planet from its formation, but that it had undergone significant differentiation, at least locally, in thin lunar crust. Period before 3.7-billion-yr event recorded in older Highland areas was interval in which earth's record had been obliterated. Therefore much of lunar surface was important in understanding early evolution and differentiation of planets. Observations showed lunar materials were product of considerable geochemical and petrological evolution. Optical properties of soil measured in laboratories agreed with those inferred from telescopic studies and indicated thin layer of soil must have covered most of moon. Correlation of spectral features determined in laboratory with might studies suggested that iron content of lunar surface might vary.
Measured dielectric constant of soil agreed with known radar reflectivity of moon. Penetration depth suggested upper layers were electrically transparent. Measured thermal conductivity suggested that diurnal variations in temperature should extend to less than one meter in soil regions. Thermoluminescence studies on core samples showed substantial diurnal variation in temperature 12 cm (4.7 in) below surface. Seismic study showed that attenuation of lunar sound waves decreased with pressure. High-pressure velocities were consistent with those observed in Apollo 12 seismic experiments, suggesting possibility of seismic wave guide at shallow depths on moon. Natural remanent magnetization found in crystalline rocks and breccias suggested ancient moon might have had magnetic field with strength of few percent of earth's field. Field existing 3.7 billion yrs ago might have been result of fluid motions in lunar interior-effect of earth's field when moon and earth were closer together or result of processes not yet understood. Lunar samples were valuable for study of low-energy, weakly penetrating radiations and had provided sample of gases blown off sun in solar wind, making it possible to determine isotopic composition and abundance of elements in sun by direct measurement. Results would lead to better understanding of sun's evolution. Studies of stored nuclear tracks and induced radioactivities had shown effect of bombardment by solar flare particles and suggested activity had persisted for long periods. Abundance of cosmic-ray-produced nuclides in samples showed some rocks had been on or within several centimeters of lunar surface for at least 10 million yrs and within one or two meters (three to six and a half feet) for at least 500 million yrs. In search for life origins on moon, micropaleontological examination of sample by optical microscopy and by electron and scanning electron microscopy had produced uniformly negative results. Intensive search for viable organisms using many environmental and media combinations had produced negative results, as had the one quarantine study. Reports given at conference were published in Jan. 30 issue of Science under NASA contract. (Science, 1/30/70)
The following are Press Conferences from the Lunar Science Conference on this date.
Dr Gene Simmons (MSC), Dr Mitsunobu Tatsumoto (USGS), Dr Eugene Shoemaker (CalTech), Dr Gerald Wasserburg (CalTech), Dr Paul Gast (JSC), Dr Edward Anders (University of Chicago), Dr J.V. Smith (University of Chicago)
Dr Robert Walker (Washington University St Louis), Dr James Arnold (University California San Diego), Dr Johannes Geiss (University of Bern)
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