Magnetic studies on Apollo 15 and 16 lunar samples

Abstract

The magnetic properties of lunar samples are almost exclusively due to rather pure metallic iron. The mare basalt contains about 0.06 wt.% Fe, the soils 0.5--0.6 wt.%, and the breccias 0.3-1.0 wt.%. Most of the additional iron in the soils and breccias is believed to be the result of reduction processes operating on the lunar surface.