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Geology topics

D. Stuart-Alexander

Publications and source records attributed to D. Stuart-Alexander.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

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

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