Originally published December 7 2005
Hubble telescope reveals mineral concentrations on the moon
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys took ultraviolet and visible-light photographs that will help NASA determine where future missions should land to explore promising variations in the moon's crust.
In an unusual use of the Hubble, astronomers trained the large Earth-orbiting telescope on the Moon in August to take the first high-resolution ultraviolet images of certain geologically interesting areas.
The images allow scientists to see areas of mineral variation within the crust and could help identify the most valuable sites for sending robotic and human missions.
The Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys took ultraviolet and visible-light images of geologically diverse areas on the side of the Moon nearest Earth, including the Aristarchus impact crater and the adjacent Schroter's Valley rille.
The camera also photographed the Apollo 15 and 17 landing sites, where astronauts collected rock and soil samples in 1971 and 1972.
The Aristarchus plateau has long been of interest to geologists because of its volcanic vents, collapsed lava tubes called rilles, ejected volcanic material and recent impact craters.
The Aristarchus crater, 26 miles wide and two miles deep, could be as young as 100 million years old and has a sharp rim and other fresh features that reveal the varied geology of the area, said Mark Robinson, a planetary geologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
The telescope's images showed a diversity of materials in the crater, including basalt, olivine, anorthosite and ilmenite.
Researchers said ilmenite, a glassy mineral made up of titanium, iron and oxygen, was particularly interesting because it could be an oxygen source for visitors.
The telescope's findings, which continue to be evaluated, will give researchers a head start at interpreting similar but more detailed information expected from future satellite Moon surveys, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission planned for 2008.
A Hubble program scientist, Jennifer Wiseman, said there were no plans to use it for further lunar observations.
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