| Titre | Prospecting for Fe-Ti oxides in lunar regolith using ilmenite on Earth |
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| Auteur | Morisset, C -E; Williamson, M -C; Hipkin, V |
| Source | Proceedings of the 15th CASI Astronautics Conference ASTRO 2010; 2010 p. 1-6 |
| Image |  |
| Année | 2010 |
| Séries alt. | Secteur des sciences de la Terre, Contribution externe 20110401 |
| Réunion | 15th CASI Astronautics Conference ASTRO 2010; Toronto; CA; mai 4-6, 2010 |
| Document | livre |
| Lang. | anglais |
| Media | papier |
| Province | Québec |
| SNRC | 13M/14; 31J/01 |
| Région | Moon; Degrosbois; Saint-Hippolyte; Sandford Lake; Adirondack; Morin; Mirepoix; Mattawa; Disko Island; Mistastin |
| Lat/Long OENS | -65.5000 -65.0000 56.0000 55.7500 |
| Lat/Long OENS | -74.5000 -74.0000 52.2500 52.0000 |
| Lat/Long OENS | -54.0000 -52.0000 70.5000 69.5000 |
| Lat/Long OENS | -74.5000 -73.5000 44.5000 44.0000 |
| Sujets | techniques de prospection; prospection; régolithes; minéralisation; fer; titane; ilménite; roches ignées; gîtes minéralogiques; pétrographie; Structure d'impact de Mistastin ; géologie extraterrestre;
géologie économique; minéralogie |
| Illustrations | cartes de localisation; photomicrographies |
| Diffusé | 2010 01 01 |
| Résumé | (disponible en anglais seulement)
Studies focusing on the resource potential of the lunar regolith have been recommended as high-priority scientific objectives for the Moon by the Planetary
Geology and Geophysics community in Canada. As a result, a post-doctoral project was initiated in September 2009 on the origin of Fe-Ti geochemical anomalies on the lunar surface, with implications for strategic mineral exploration and resource
utilization on the Moon. An important goal of the project is to identify ilmenite on Earth that is of similar composition to the ilmenite found in lunar rocks. Achieving this goal will help us to identify (1) potential sources of lunar simulant and
(2) analogue sites where scientific instruments can be used to test their abilities to prospect for Fe-Ti oxides in igneous rocks. For this purpose, we are investigating five geological sites located in Canada, United States, and Greenland. Lunar
ilmenite does not contain ferric iron but most terrestrial ilmenites do. A petrographic study of samples from one of the selected sites, the Sanford deposit in the Adirondack Mountains, USA, has revealed that ilmenite from two of the three samples
examined so far does not display hematite exsolution, a textural outcome of the presence of ferric iron in terrestrial ilmenite. A geochemical study is underway to confirm that the ilmenite present at Sanford Lake is similar in composition to lunar
ilmenite. Once we have confirmed that lunar-like ilmenite is indeed present at Sanford Lake, we will compare the samples with ilmenite from Apollo samples, and test a suite of portable field instruments for the reconnaissance prospecting of Fe-Ti
oxides in anorthositic and basaltic rocks as a precursor to lunar exploration missions. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 290142 |
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