Reply #16: how do you know the Moon is boring? [View All]

[Ediacara]

It's light gray and dark gray.

What does that mean?

Well one could hypothesise that, since primitive magmas on earth are peridotite (ultra-mafic), that the Moon also must have been ultra-mafic or mafic in composition.

You could make the assumption that anorthite (Calcium plagioclase feldspar) crystalized within the global magma chamber and floated to the top of it since its density is lower than that of the bulk magma, and that other heavier minerals settled out and sank. Anorthite is white, and so are the light highland areas. One could also assume that the Mare were flood basalts that erupted after the surface was entirely anorthosite. Basalt is dark gray/black, so it makse sense.

How do you know though without direct sampling? Even now, it's difficult.

Plus, what about metamorphism?

And when did this all happen?

Three billion years ago? One hundred million years ago? These are big questions, and pretty important actually in knowing about the biological history of Earth, as well as the geological evolution and history of the Solar System as a whole.

And Mars?

Mars is about 100x more interesting and 100x more enegmatic than the Moon. There are BIG questions about the geology (ie, why did plate tectonics aparently never start there even though the core and mantle were very hot for some time; what's with all the iron; why no aparent granitic rocks etc), and of course, BIG BIG BIG questions concerning the possibility of past life.

Remote control robots are not a replacement for field geology, and I stand by my contention that they won't be for another 100 years. I think it's worth the investment, and the rewards in terms of knowlege will be tremendous.

EDIT: to add that I agree with you concerning Bush's funding proposals, it's a joke and an election year ploy, and I can only hope that Dean or Clark or whomever will take this seriously enough to fund it properly in 2005 :-)