http://gallery.usgs.gov/images/logos/usgs_only.jpg USGS Multimedia Gallery Collection for: Astrogeology http://gallery.usgs.gov/ en-us OC_Web@usgs.gov (Office of Communications Web Group) http://gallery.usgs.gov/images/USGS.gif USGS http://gallery.usgs.gov/ <![CDATA[Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong piloting a mule in the Grand Canyon, Ariz., March 1964.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/07_22_2009_uyp0SgeRRM_07_22_2009_0 <![CDATA[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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/07_22_2009_uyp0SgeRRM_07_22_2009_1 <![CDATA[In an unearthly series of events, 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. ]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_0 <![CDATA[USGS scientist Steve Wilson of the simulant team. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_1 <![CDATA[Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are collected, ground, and blended with other rocks and materials to make the lunar regolith simulant. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_2 <![CDATA[View of the Stullwater Mine, where rocks are collected for making lunar regolith simulant. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_3 <![CDATA[Rocks are collected from the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Montana to be used for making lunar regolith simulant. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_4 <![CDATA[Rocks from the Stillwater Mine are brought to the USGS in Denver, Colorado, where they are ground before entering the plasma melter at Zybek Advanced Products. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_5 <![CDATA[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. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_6 <![CDATA[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. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_7 <![CDATA[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. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_8 <![CDATA[Plasma torches at Zybek Advanced Products blaze at over 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit, melting the rock mixture. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_9 <![CDATA[Plasma torches at Zybek Advanced Products blaze at over 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit, melting the rock mixture.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_10 <![CDATA[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. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_11 <![CDATA[The molten rock streams through an opening in the melter into a large container of water below, where it instantly cools into glass. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_12 <![CDATA[The molten rock mixture cools upon contact with lukewarm water, instantly creating glassy agglutinate. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_14 <![CDATA[When the water is separated from the cooled molten rock, agglutinate is collected. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_15 <![CDATA[The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_16 <![CDATA[The agglutinate created by the plasma melting process is later ground and blended with other materials to create lunar regolith simulant. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_17 <![CDATA[Four tons of the lunar highlands regolith simulant will be created during by the USGS during the summer of 2009. NASA has requested that 100 tons be made over the next few years. __________ 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.]]> http://gallery.usgs.gov/photos/05_26_2009_nr2Tlx8KKf_05_26_2009_18