B
Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations
ALSEP—Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package
anorthosite—a type of rock made up mainly of plagioclase feldspar, which has been found in all the Apollo lunar samples and constitutes most of the light-colored crust on the Moon
Archaea—a recently recognized domain of prokaryotic life. Single-celled microorganisms that lack a nucleus, are morphologically similar to bacteria but not closely related, having features such as genetic transcription and translation that are different. They are found in very high temperature environments, and include methanogens and hyperthermophiles that may be similar to the first life on Earth
ASTP—Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint U.S.–U.S.S.R. mission
ATP—Advanced Technology Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
bacteria—single-celled micro-organisms lacking a nucleus, morphologically similar to Archaea, but not closely related
breccia—a rock composed of angular fragments of rocks and minerals in a matrix
CAPTEM—Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials
Chang’e—a Chinese National Space Administration lunar orbiter
Chesapeake—an ancient subsurface impact crater located in the Chesapeake Bay
CHEX—National Research Council’s Committee on Human Exploration
Chicxulub—an ancient subsurface impact crater located near Chicxulub, Mexico
chondrite—a type of stony meteorite containing chondrules, roughly spherical bodies containing pyroxene or olivine embedded in the matrix
chronostratigraphy—the branch of stratigraphy that studies the absolute age of rocks
cool early Earth—hypothesis that the surface of Earth cooled relatively quickly after the formation of the core and the Moon, such that oceans and conditions hospitable for life could exist by 4.3 Ga
Copernican—the lunar geologic period from about 1.1 Ga ago to the present
Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary—on Earth, the boundary between rocks of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, about 65.5 million years ago, around the time of a major extinction event
cumulates—igneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma
detrital zircons—zircon crystals found in erosional deposits. Some grains are as old as 4.4 Ga and are the oldest known samples of Earth
differentiated planetary body—a planetary body whose interior is formed of separate internal geologic units with distinct mineralogical characteristics, e.g., core, mantle, crust
Erastosthenian—the lunar geologic period from 1.1 Ga to 3.2 Ga ago
ESMD—NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
EVA—extravehicular activity
Exosphere—the highest layer of an atmosphere
feldspathic—pertaining to rocks rich in feldspar minerals
Ga—one billion years
geochronology—determination of the time at which a rock crystallized, usually by radioactive decay of parent-daughter isotope pairs: U-Pb, Sm-Nd, K-Ar, or Rb-Sr
hyperthermophile—microorganisms that live in hot environments, above 60°C
igneous rocks—rocks crystallized from a magma
ISRU—in situ resource utilization
Isua greenstone rocks—a geological formation in southwestern Greenland (Isua) composed of ancient surface rocks
KREEP—lunar basalts and breccias that are rich in potassium (K), rare-earth elements (REE), and phosphorus (P)
Kuiper Belt—a region of the solar system distributed in a roughly circular disk extending from 40 to 100 astronomical units from the Sun
Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) hypothesis—the theory that meteorite bombardment of the inner solar system declined after accretion of the planets and then peaked again at 3.9 Ga. This event is proposed to have limited the emergence of life on Earth
LCROSS—the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a secondary payload to be launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LEAG—the NASA Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) is responsible for analyzing scientific, technical, commercial, and operational issues associated with lunar exploration
LPRP—the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
LRO—NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LSAM—NASA’s Lunar Surface Access Module
Lunar A—a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar mission
lunar dynamo—for the ancient Moon, the possibility that a lunar magnetic field might have been generated by the internal motion of an iron-rich molten core
Lunar Magma Ocean hypothesis—the hypothesis that when the Moon formed, it was molten to a depth of hundreds of kilometers; its crystallization produced the primary crust and mantle
mafic materials—a dark-colored, igneous rocks rich in ferromagnesian minerals
magma—molten rock from the interior of a planetary body
mantle—the geologic zone above the core and below the crust
MER—NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover
obliquity—the angle between the orbital plane of an object and the plane of its rotational equator
olivine—a magnesium iron silicate mineral (FeMg)2SiO4
parautochthonous—a rock type intermediate in tectonic character between those found at the site of their formation and those that come from another site
Permian/Triassic boundary—on Earth, the layer of rocks between the Permian and Triassic periods, about 251 million years ago, the time of a major extinction event
petrology—a branch of geology dealing with the composition, mineralogy, origin, occurrence, history, and structure of rocks
plagioclase—a type of feldspar and one of the most common rock-forming minerals, (CaNa)(AlSi)4O8
pluton—a large body of igneous rock created by the subsurface intrusion of magma
pre-Nectarian period—the lunar geologic period from the formation of the Moon to about 3.9 Ga ago
protolith—the original rocks from which igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks were formed
pyroclastic—a type of rock material formed by volcanic explosion
pyroxene—a group of common ferromagnesian rock-forming minerals
regolith—on the Moon, the surface rock debris that overlies bedrock
remanent magnetization—also called paleomagnetism, the component of a rock’s magnetism that has a fixed direction and is independent of Earth’s magnetic field
rheology—the study of the deformation and flow of matter
SBE—surface boundary exosphere
SELENE—Selenological and Engineering Explorer, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar orbiter
SIM—the Apollo Scientific Instrument Module, which contained panoramic and mapping cameras, a gamma-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, and a mass spectrometer
SIMS—secondary-ion mass spectrometry
SMART-1—Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, a European Space Agency lunar mission
SMD—NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
SPA—the lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin
stratigraphy—the study of rock layers
TEM—transmission electron microscopy
U-Pb geochronology—the determination of the age of a rock based on radioactive decay of isotopes of U and Th to Pb, usually in the mineral zircon
VSE—NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration
xenolith—a foreign inclusion in an igneous rock
zircon—a silicate mineral (ZrSiO4)