Geology Reports⌕ Search

Geology topics

G.A. Swann

Publications and source records attributed to G.A. Swann.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1973

Preliminary geologic investigation of the Apollo 17 landing site

The Apollo 17 lunar module (LM) landed on the flat floor of a deep valley that embays the mountainous highlands at the eastern rim of the Serenitatis basin. Serenitatis, the site of a pronounced mascon, is one of the major multi-ringed basins on the near side of the Moon. The Taurus-Littrow valley, which is radial to the Serenitatis basis, is interpreted as a deep graben formed by structural adjustment of lunar crustal material to the Serenitatis impact.

Book chapter↗
USGS1972

Geologic setting of the Apollo 15 samples

The samples and photographs returned from the Apollo 15 site show that Hadley Delta is largely underlain by breccias whose clasts are mainly fragments of coarse-grained feldspathic rocks and nonmare-type basalt. Conspicuous sets of lineaments, visible in surface and orbital photographs of Mount Hadley and Hadley Delta, may represent systematic layering or fracture sets. The mare surface, with regolith about 5 meters thick, is underlain by two major basalt types, at least one of which has extensive lateral continuity and is exposed in the upper wall of Hadley Rille. Gradual erosional recession of the edges and filing of the interior of the rille by talus have contributed to the present cross sectional profile.

Science↗
USGS1972

Geology of Hadley Rille preliminary report

Hadley Rille generally trends in directions that are controlled by pre-mare structures. The southern half of the rille, south of the Apollo 15 site, follows a mare-filled graben that is concentric to the Imbrium basin; however, the zigs and zags in the course are mainly north and east-northeast, directions that do not reflect pre-mare structures in adjacent highlands. The northern half of the rille follows a general direction that is parallel to pre-mare Imbrium-radial faults, is less sinuous than farther south, and intersects several fault-like features, all of which suggest some structural control along this part of the course. At the Apollo 15 site, the east rim is 30-40 m higher than the west rim as if the rille were a normal fault. The rille cannot be a simple fault, however, because the two sides do not match; instead, at bends, the outside has less curvature than the inside, which is partly attributed to recession of the rims by mass-wasting.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1972

Preliminary geologic investigation of the Apollo 15 landing site

The Apollo 15 lunar module (LM) landed at longitude 03°39'20'' E, latitude 26°26'00'' N on the mare surface of Palus Putredinis on the eastern edge of the Imbrium Basin. The site is between the Apennine Mountain front and Hadley Rille. The objectives of the mission, in order of decreasing priority, were description and sampling of three major geologic features—the Apennine Front, Hadley Rille, and the mare.

Book chapter↗
USGS1972

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 or landforms at the site but rather that the area is underlain by a wide variety of impact-generated breccias.

Book chapter↗
USGS1971

Geologic setting of the Apollo 14 samples

The Apollo 14 lunar module landed in a region of the lunar highlands that is part of a widespread blanket of ejecta surrounding the Mare Imbrium basin. Samples were collected from the regolith developed on a nearly level plain, a ridge 100 meters high, and a blocky ejecta deposit around a young crater. Large boulders in the vicinity of the landing site are coherent fragmental rocks as are some of the returned samples.

Science↗
USGS1970

Lunar regolith at Tranquillity Base

The regolith at Tranquillity Base is a layer of fragmental debris that ranges in thickness from about 3 to 6 meters. The thickness of the regolith and the exposure histories of its constituent fragments can be related, by means of a relatively simple model, to the observed crater distribution.

Science↗
USGS1969

Geologic setting of the lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 mission

The Apollo 11 LM landed approximately 20 km south-southwest of the crater Sabine D in the southwestern part of Mare Tranquillitatis ( fig. 3-1 ). The landing site is 41.5 km north-northeast of the western promontory of the Kant Plateau (ref. 3-1 ), which is the nearest highland region. The Surveyor 5 spacecraft is approximately 25 km north-northwest of the Apollo 11 landing site, and the impact crater formed by Ranger 8 is 68 km northeast of the landing site.

Book chapter↗
USGS1968

Preliminary lunar exploration plan of the Marius Hills region of the moon

This report presents a preliminary Lunar Exploration Plan (LEP) for the Marius Hills region of the Moon. The Marius Hills region is one of the six sites considered by the GLEP site selection group as a candidate for manned exploration using mobility systems allowing a radius of operation of at least 5 km. The 3-day mission considered for the Marius Hills region is based on the use of one lunar roving vehicle (LRV) and two lunar flying units (LFU's) and allows for four extravehicular activities (EVA's) of 3 hours each.

Open-File Report↗