Luna 24: Lateral heterogeneity in the lunar crust

Abstract

Petrologic investigations of six samples of Luna 24 soil suggest: 1. Potassium, and by inference all lithophile trace elements, are depleted in the surficial rocks of the moon's eastern limb relative to the moon's central nearside. This suggests a similar depletion in the underlying crust and mantle. 2. Basalts in southern Mare Crisium are derived from two K and Ti depleted magmas; one almost a factor of two richer in MgO than the other. 3. The soil throughout the Luna 24 core may be modeled as a mixture of glass poor mare material (compositionally dominated by the higher MgO basalts) and glass rich highland material.