Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are collected, ground, and blended with other rocks and materials to make the lunar regolith simulant.
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Images
Browse here for some of our available imagery. We may get permission to use some non-USGS images and these should be marked and are subject to copyright laws. USGS Astrogeology images can be freely downloaded.
Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are collected, ground, and blended with other rocks and materials to make the lunar regolith simulant.
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View of the Stullwater Mine, where rocks are collected for making lunar regolith simulant.
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The USGS has created man-made moon dirt, or regolith, to help NASA prepare for upcoming moon explorations. Four tons of the simulant is expected to be made by this summer of 2009 and turned over to the scientific community involved in lunar exploration.
View of the Stullwater Mine, where rocks are collected for making lunar regolith simulant.
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The USGS has created man-made moon dirt, or regolith, to help NASA prepare for upcoming moon explorations. Four tons of the simulant is expected to be made by this summer of 2009 and turned over to the scientific community involved in lunar exploration.
Plasma torches at Zybek Advanced Products blaze at over 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit, melting the rock mixture.
Plasma torches at Zybek Advanced Products blaze at over 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit, melting the rock mixture.
When firing, the Zybek melter plasma torches must be viewed wearing long sleeves and a welding mask to avoid potential burns from the 37,000 degree Fahrenheit blaze.
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When firing, the Zybek melter plasma torches must be viewed wearing long sleeves and a welding mask to avoid potential burns from the 37,000 degree Fahrenheit blaze.
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The molten rock streams through an opening in the melter into a large container of water below, where it instantly cools into glass.
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The molten rock streams through an opening in the melter into a large container of water below, where it instantly cools into glass.
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The molten rock mixture cools upon contact with lukewarm water, instantly creating glassy agglutinate.
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The molten rock mixture cools upon contact with lukewarm water, instantly creating glassy agglutinate.
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When the water is separated from the cooled molten rock, agglutinate is collected.
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The USGS has created man-made moon dirt, or regolith, to help NASA prepare for upcoming moon explorations. Four tons of the simulant is expected to be made by this summer of 2009 and turned over to the scientific community involved in lunar exploration.
When the water is separated from the cooled molten rock, agglutinate is collected.
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The USGS has created man-made moon dirt, or regolith, to help NASA prepare for upcoming moon explorations. Four tons of the simulant is expected to be made by this summer of 2009 and turned over to the scientific community involved in lunar exploration.
The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant.
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The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant.
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The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant.
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The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant.
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Rocks are collected from the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Montana to be used for making lunar regolith simulant.
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Rocks are collected from the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Montana to be used for making lunar regolith simulant.
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Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are brought to the USGS in Denver, Colorado, where they are sledged and ground before entering the plasma melter at Zybek Advanced Products.
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Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are brought to the USGS in Denver, Colorado, where they are sledged and ground before entering the plasma melter at Zybek Advanced Products.
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The plasma torch melter in Boulder, Colorado exists nowhere else in the world. The mixed and ground rock on the left in a 1-ton bag is fed into the melter to be made into glass.
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The plasma torch melter in Boulder, Colorado exists nowhere else in the world. The mixed and ground rock on the left in a 1-ton bag is fed into the melter to be made into glass.
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To present the most information in a single view of Jupiter's moon, Io, a global color mosaic, derived from Galileo color images, was superposed on a higher resolution image mosaic, derived from merging the best resolution images from spacecrafts Galileo and Voyager 1.
To present the most information in a single view of Jupiter's moon, Io, a global color mosaic, derived from Galileo color images, was superposed on a higher resolution image mosaic, derived from merging the best resolution images from spacecrafts Galileo and Voyager 1.
![USGS IMAP 586: (RLC-15) Geologic map of the Alphonsus GA region of the moon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMAP586_AlphonsusGA_Moon.png?itok=7RpNwfX2)
USGS IMAP 586: (RLC-15) Geologic map of the Alphonsus GA region of the moon
By: J.F. McCauley
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i586
USGS IMAP 586: (RLC-15) Geologic map of the Alphonsus GA region of the moon
By: J.F. McCauley
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i586
![USGS IMAP 594: (RLC-9) Geologic map of the Sabine DM region of the moon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMAP594_SabineDM_Moon.png?itok=NNNaE-Hk)
USGS IMAP 594: (RLC-9) Geologic map of the Sabine DM region of the moon
By: N.J. Trask
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i594
USGS IMAP 594: (RLC-9) Geologic map of the Sabine DM region of the moon
By: N.J. Trask
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i594
![USGS IMAP 622: (ORB II-13 (100)) Geologic map of the Maestlin G region of the moon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMAP622_MaestlinG_Moon.png?itok=HMisVV_j)
USGS IMAP 622: (ORB II-13 (100)) Geologic map of the Maestlin G region of the moon
By: M.H.Carr and S.R. Titley
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i622
USGS IMAP 622: (ORB II-13 (100)) Geologic map of the Maestlin G region of the moon
By: M.H.Carr and S.R. Titley
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i622
Blasting craters for a new section of the Cinder Lakes outside Flagstaff, Ariz.(July 1968). USGS Astrogeology constructed a mockup of a section of the moon's Sea of Tranquillity in a cinder field to aid with training and time-and-motion studies.
Blasting craters for a new section of the Cinder Lakes outside Flagstaff, Ariz.(July 1968). USGS Astrogeology constructed a mockup of a section of the moon's Sea of Tranquillity in a cinder field to aid with training and time-and-motion studies.
This photograph shows Gene Shoemaker wearing a prototype rocket jetpack during field testing in Hopi Buttes, AZ in 1966. The USGS Astrogeology Science Center, which Shoemaker founded, played an integral role in field testing equipment for the Apollo missions to the Moon.
This photograph shows Gene Shoemaker wearing a prototype rocket jetpack during field testing in Hopi Buttes, AZ in 1966. The USGS Astrogeology Science Center, which Shoemaker founded, played an integral role in field testing equipment for the Apollo missions to the Moon.
![A man wearing a spacesuit and a cowboy hat instead of a helmet](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/2005-1190-Fig031a.jpg?itok=l7Hp6Lfq)
Image of USGS staff member Joe O'Connor in a prototype Apollo space suit and cowboy hat. This image is Figure 31a in "The U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeology—A Chronology of Activities from Conception through the End of Project Apollo (1960-
1973)". The original caption is:
Image of USGS staff member Joe O'Connor in a prototype Apollo space suit and cowboy hat. This image is Figure 31a in "The U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeology—A Chronology of Activities from Conception through the End of Project Apollo (1960-
1973)". The original caption is:
![USGS IMAP 462: (LAC-40) Geologic map and section of the Timocharis region of the Moon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMAP462_Timocharis_Moon.png?itok=bV5kJbOI)
USGS IMAP 462: (LAC-40) Geologic map and section of the Timocharis region of the Moon
By: M.H. Carr
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i462
USGS IMAP 462: (LAC-40) Geologic map and section of the Timocharis region of the Moon
By: M.H. Carr
Map and associated documents are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i462
![USGS IMAP 385: (LAC-75) Geologic map and sections of the Letronne region of the moon](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/IMAP385_Letronne_Moon.png?itok=Vk-eKz1I)
USGS IMAP 385: (LAC-75) Geologic map and sections of the Letronne region of the moon
By: C.H. Marshall
Map and associated data are available from the USGS Publication Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i385
USGS IMAP 385: (LAC-75) Geologic map and sections of the Letronne region of the moon
By: C.H. Marshall
Map and associated data are available from the USGS Publication Warehouse: https://doi.org/10.3133/i385