PRECED!NG P,.'IGE E,LANK NOT FI!..MEb 361 RESOURCES FOR A LUNAR BASE: ROCKS, MINERALS, AND SOIL OF THE MOON N93- 1 973

The rrmks and minerals of the Moon uqll he included among the raw materials used to constr_'t a lunar base. The lunar regolith, the fragmental maten _ present on the surface of the Moon, is composed mostly of disaggregated rocks and minerals, but also includes glassy fragments fused together by meteorite impacts, lhe finer fraction of the regolith (i.e., <1 cm) is inf, mmally referred to as soil. The soil is Im)bably the most important lx_rtion of the regolith for use at a lunar base. For example, soil can be used as insulation against cosmic rays, for lunar ceramics and ab_Mes, (w fiw grouSng plants. The soil contains abundant solar-ugna_i_nted elements as well as various minerals, particzdarly o.xfule phases, that are of potential economic importance. For example, these components of the soil are sources of oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel, helium for nuclear energy, and metals such as Fe, A1, St _ and 1t