Structure of Regolith Simulant

Lunar regolith is a soil that covers the entire surface of the moon to a depth
of at least 2 meters. This space dust is produced by micrometeorites that impact
the surface of the moon. On earth, these micrometeorites burn up in the
atmosphere long before they have the opportunity to impact terra firma. Since there
is no weathering on the moon, these micrometeorites are able to strike ground,
where the collision (100,000 km/hr) with ground imparts a rapid increase in heat of
the particle followed by rapid cooling. These unique circumstances produce a
jagged particle classified as an agglutinate. Below figure 1 shows a microscopic
image of beach sand and figure 2 shows a microscopic image of a regolith particle
from an Apollo mission.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Regolith Simulant attempts to mimic properties of lunar soil such as particle
size, shape, electrostatic characteristics, and abrasion. Manufacturers of lunar
regolith attempt to tailor their product to match these characteristics in through a
variety of methods. Below, table 1 details the chemical composition of a typical
batch of JSC-1A from Orbitec.

Table 1
As you can see above, silicon dioxide makes up nearly half of Orbitecs
formula, though it is in mineral form not pure compound form. Below is a chart that
shows the chemical composition of the various minerals in JSC-1A.

Table 2
All of the materials above are available in powdered forms commercially.
Though this is true, without the proper physical processing it is not likely that these
powdered minerals mixed together would produce a very accurate simulant. It
would be better to find a commercially available premixed source of material that
has similar composition to JSC-1A. Fortunately, it does seem as if nature provides us
with a very close match to the above mineral and chemical composition known as
basalt or volcanic rock. According to basaltpowder.com, the mineral makeup of
basalt powder includes plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine, and often has a glassy
appearance. Below, table 3 details the chemical composition of basaltic power as
given by basalticpowder.com.

Chemical
Component

Percentage by
Mass

SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3

48.84
15.52
10.38

TiO2
P2O5
CaO
MgO
Na2O
K2O

1.66
0.37
9.52
6.60
3.95
1.01

Table 3 Highlighted area = composition within 1 percentage unit of commercial

regolith.
The final criterion that our material needs to meet is that it is the appropriate
size and shape. From Orbitec:

Table 4

Figure 3
From the information listed on basalticpowder.com, it appears that basaltic
powder as small as 1.3 microns and as large as 2 microns can be purchased, so
basalt powder should be able to meet our size criteria. As for shape, basalt has a
relatively jagged structure as evidenced by figure 4 below, so it should also meet
our shape criteria.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Basalt Fines

Suitability of Common Playground Sand

I was curious to see how playground sand stacked up to properties of
JSC1A, so I purchased some playground sand at my local Ace Hardware and
did a couple of tests. Below are pictures of the angle of repose damp sand
(left) and dry sand (right).

Figure 6 Damp Sand

Figure 7 Dry

Sand
Below in table 5 are the values of the bulk density of the dry and damp
sand along with their respective angles of repose. The size of sand particles
varies from 65 microns to 2000 microns.
Material
Dry Sand
Damp Sand Fluffy
Damp Sand Compacted

Angle of Repose
25
46
90

Bulk Density
1.62 g/cm3
1.12 g/cm3
1.522 g/cm3

Purchasing Regolith
There are two major suppliers of Lunar Regolith in the United States: Obitec
and Zybek. Below is a convenient chart that shows the price breakdown of the
different varieties of lunar simulant.
Regolith Simulant Type

Supplier

JSC LUNAR-1A SIMULANT

JSC2A -TG (Technical Grade crystal/glass/agglutinate)
JSC2A (Bulk/Excavation Grade -crystal/glass
MCB (Low Cost Bulk Grade - crystal + some glass)
Table 5

Orbitec
Zybek

Price per
kg
$30
$31

Zybek
Zybek

$19
$8

The different grades of Zybeks simulant vary in price with the degree of fidelity of
the simulant - the higher priced simulants have more realistic glass particles.

Purchasing Basalt Fines

There seem to be several places sources that we can obtain basalt fines.
Below is a convenient tabular reference.
Online Sources
Source
kisorganics.com

rockdustlocal.co
m

Dresser Trap
Rock
Local Sources
Source

Cost
$.75 / lb
1.20 /lb including
shipping
$46 / 40lb (includes
shipping)
$1.15 /lb including
shipping
$25 / ton for basalt
fines
Table 6 Highlighted =

Notes
$31.98 for shipping for 70 lbs. For
larger quantities get shipping
quote. Located in Redmond, WA.
They can ship a 1 ton a load for
$380 including shipping.
Located in Vermont.
Located in Wisconsin. Do not ship.
most economical source

Xenia Sand and Gravel

Phillips Sand and Gravel Plant
Tipp Stone
North Dayton Garden Center

(937)
(937)
(937)
(937)

372-2978
426-5461
890-4051
233-5761

Table 6 red = Do not have basalt dust/fines

Useful Properties
= Internal Angle of Friction
= Angle of Repose
C = cohesion
= coefficient of friction
f = shear strength
= density
From the CEMA Conveyor Guide: The angle of surcharge of a material is the angle
to the horizontal which the surface of the material assumes while the material is at
rest on a moving conveyor belt. This angle usually is 5 degrees to 15 degrees less
than the angle of repose, though in some materials it may be as much as 20
degrees less.

JSC-1A

JSC2A

JSC2A-TG

MCB

45

Not Given

45

1.0 kPa

Not Given

Not Given

1.5 to 1.8
g/cm3

Not
Given
Not
Given
Not
Given
Not
Given
Not
Given
Not
Given

Lunar soil research

Sand

Not Given

Basalt
Fines
Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

45

25

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

Not Given

1.6 g/cm3

1.62
g/cm3

30-40

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3eu5cqdnk
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