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Preliminary geologic investigation of the Apollo 16 landing site Preliminary geologic investigation of the Apollo 16 landing site

The Apollo 16 landing site in the lunar central highlands encompassed terra plains and adjacent mountainous areas of hilly and furrowed terra. These morphologic units, representing important terrane types in the lunar highlands, had been interpreted as volcanic on most premission geologic maps. However, it became apparent during the mission that there are indeed few or no volcanic rocks...
Authors
W.R. Muehlberger, R. M. Batson, E. L. Boudette, C.M. Duke, R. E. Eggleton, D. P. Elston, A. W. England, V. L. Freeman, M. H. Hait, T.A. Hall, J.W. Head, C. A. Hodges, H. E. Holt, E.D. Jackson, J.A. Jordan, K.B. Larson, D.J. Milton, V. S. Reed, J. J. Rennilson, G. G. Schaber, J.P. Schafer, L. T. Silver, D. Stuart-Alexander, R. L. Sutton, G.A. Swann, R.L. Tyner, G. E. Ulrich, H. G. Wilshire, E.W. Wolfe, J.W. Young

Orbital-science investigation: Part F: regional geology of Hadley Rille Orbital-science investigation: Part F: regional geology of Hadley Rille

Study of the sinuous Hadley Rille (fig. 25-45) was a primary goal of the Apollo 15 mission. Local geology of the rille near the landing site is described in section 5 of this report. Preliminary study of orbital photography from Hasselblad, metric, and panoramic cameras makes possible a description of some regional relationships of the rille. Considerable use is also made of a...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, James W. Head

Orbital-science investigation: Part G: lineaments that are artifacts of lighting Orbital-science investigation: Part G: lineaments that are artifacts of lighting

Many Apollo 15 orbital photographs, particularly those taken at low Sun-elevation angles, reveal grid patterns of lineaments. In some circumstances, the grid pattern is present in areas where structural control seems unlikely. For example, in an oblique view (fig. 25-52), the ejecta blankets of two fresh impact craters seem to have two intersecting sets of lineaments. Because previous...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, Bradley R. Larsen

Photogrammetry and altimetry: Part B: photogrammetry using Apollo 16 orbital photography Photogrammetry and altimetry: Part B: photogrammetry using Apollo 16 orbital photography

The Apollo 15 and 16 metric and panoramic cameras have provided photographs for accurate topographic portrayal of the lunar surface using photogrammetric methods. In turn, quantitative morphologic analyses of topographic results are invaluable aids in the interpretation of the geologic processes.
Authors
Sherman S.C. Wu, Francis J. Schafer, Raymond Jordan, Gary M. Nakata

Photogeology: Part Y: physical and geological aspects of heiligenschein measurements Photogeology: Part Y: physical and geological aspects of heiligenschein measurements

Heiligenschein is the upsurge in reflected brightness as zero-phase angle is approached. For the first time, an effort has been made to investigate the diagnostic value of the heiligenschein photometric magnitude on a statistically significant scale. This investigation was performed by using the vertical photography of the Apollo 16 metric camera. The brightness surge of reflected light...
Authors
Robert L. Wildey

Photogeology: Part W: Apollo 16 landing site: summary of Earth-based remote sensing data Photogeology: Part W: Apollo 16 landing site: summary of Earth-based remote sensing data

The purpose of the infrared (IR) and radar study of the Apollo data is to establish lunar surface conditions in the vicinity of the orbital tracks of the Apollo command modules during the J-series missions. Correlations and comparisons between the Earth-based radar observations, IR observations, and other data will be plotted on photomaps produced from the mapping and panoramic cameras...
Authors
S.H. Zisk, Harold Masursky, D.J. Milton, G. G. Schaber, R.W. Shorthill, T.W. Thompson

Photogeology: Part N: ejecta blankets of large craters exemplified by King Crater Photogeology: Part N: ejecta blankets of large craters exemplified by King Crater

Details of the ejecta blankets of large, fresh craters provide insight into the mechanics of deposition and the sequence of emplacement of impact debris. King Crater is the freshest of the three large, rayed craters photographed from Apollo 16; the others are Theophilus and Langrenus Craters. King Crater is comparable in youth to Tycho Crater, and the details of its ejecta blanket help...
Authors
Keith A. Howard

Photogeology: Part L: crater morphometry Photogeology: Part L: crater morphometry

Morphometric analysis of lunar craters (ref. 29-75) complements the more traditional photointerpretive study of crater morphology. These two indirect approaches to the scientific investigation of lunar craters continue to be productive because the preferred alternative method, direct field examination of specific large craters, is not being undertaken in the current series of manned...
Authors
Richard J. Pike

Photogeology: Part D: Descartes highlands: possible analogs around the Orientale Basin Photogeology: Part D: Descartes highlands: possible analogs around the Orientale Basin

The Descartes highlands are adjacent to the terra plain on which the Apollo 16 lunar module landed (fig. 29-13). A variety of volcanic origins was proposed for the highlands before the mission (refs. 29-4, 29-21, and 29-35 to 29-37), but the returned samples of the area consist almost exclusively of nonvolcanic breccias. The breccias obtained from Stone Mountain have not been identified
Authors
Carroll Ann Hodges

Photogeology: Part B: Cayley Formation interpreted as basin ejecta Photogeology: Part B: Cayley Formation interpreted as basin ejecta

The discovery that samples returned from the Cayley Formation at the Apollo 16 landing site consist mainly of nonvolcanic breccias (secs. 6 and 7 of this report) suggests that the hypothesis in which light plains-forming materials may be ejecta from multi-ring basins should be reevaluated (refs 29-15 to 29-17). Improved information on the morphology and distribution of the Cayley...
Authors
R. E. Eggleton, G. G. Schaber

Orbital-science investigation: Part P: the process of crater removal in the lunar maria Orbital-science investigation: Part P: the process of crater removal in the lunar maria

The processes by which craters disappear from the lunar surface have been of principal concern since the first high-resolution pictures of the lunar maria were returned by Ranger VII. Those pictures revealed that craters smaller than a few hundred meters on the lunar maria vary morphologically from sharp and pristine features to shallow, highly subdued depressions. The constancy of the...
Authors
L.A. Soderblum

Photogeology: Part A: relative ages of some near-side and far-side terra plains based on Apollo 16 metric photography Photogeology: Part A: relative ages of some near-side and far-side terra plains based on Apollo 16 metric photography

The materials of most light or terra plains predate the lunar maria and postdate the Imbrian event. In the vicinity of the Imbrium Basin, these materials have been called the Cayley Formation (ref. 29-3) but because of the subtle diversity of the terra plains over the near side, Whilhelms and McCauley (ref. 29-4) simply called these materials Imbrian plains (Ip). The age relationships...
Authors
Laurence A. Soderblom, Joseph M. Boyce
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