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Calcium On The Moon
dilo
post Jun 8 2005, 10:42 PM
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Thanks to measurements by the D-CIXS X-ray spectrometer, ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft has made the first ever unambiguous remote-sensing detection of calcium on the Moon:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/SEM4711DU8E_0.html


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dvandorn
post Jun 14 2005, 03:41 PM
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What seems odd to me about any excitement over finding calcium on the Moon is that plagioclase is a mineral made up of silica, aluminum and calcium (and other trace elements). And the Moon's crust was formed from an ocean of plagioclase, creating the anorthositic gabbro that forms most of the current surface.

That right there would argue for there being a considerable amount of calcium on the Moon, and for people to have known this for quite a while.

The only reason I can think of for calcium to be an as-yet undetected major lunar element would be if the plagioclase on the Moon is somehow different from terrestrial plagioclase. And we have a fair amount of plag in the lunar samples -- has there been some calcium anomaly detected in the lunar samples?

-the other Doug


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Posts in this topic
- dilo   Calcium On The Moon   Jun 8 2005, 10:42 PM
- - edstrick   I would have to dig into Apollo 15 and 16 command/...   Jun 9 2005, 08:52 AM
- - tedstryk   QUOTE (dilo @ Jun 8 2005, 10:42 PM)Thanks to ...   Jun 9 2005, 03:09 PM
- - edstrick   Calcium is a major rock forming element, present i...   Jun 10 2005, 12:25 AM
- - BruceMoomaw   A complete Moon-wide XRS map of magnesium is consi...   Jun 14 2005, 07:07 AM
- - dvandorn   What seems odd to me about any excitement over fin...   Jun 14 2005, 03:41 PM
- - Phil Stooke   This might be a case of it being known to exist, b...   Jun 14 2005, 03:54 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   I believe that is the case -- from my admitttedly ...   Jun 14 2005, 08:38 PM
- - ljk4-1   Forget gold - there's oxygen in them thair Moo...   May 5 2006, 07:49 PM

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