Lunar regolith simulant

A lunar regolith simulant is a terrestrial material synthesized in order to approximate the chemical, mechanical, and engineering properties of, and the mineralogy and particle size distributions of, lunar regolith. Lunar regolith simulants are used by researchers who wish to research the materials handling, excavation, transportation, and uses of lunar regolith. Samples of actual lunar regolith are too scarce, and too small, for such research.

MLS-1

MLS-1 (Minnesota Lunar Simulant 1) is a lunar simulant that was developed at the University of Minnesota. The basaltic rock used in this simulant was mined from a quarry in Duluth, Minnesota. It contains plagioclase, olivine, pyroxene and ilmenite as some of its major minerals. The minerals and grain sizes resemble the chemistry of the Apollo 11 mare material (specifically soil sample 10084).

JSC-1

JSC-1 (Johnson Space Center Number One) is a lunar regolith simulant that was developed in 1994 under the auspices of NASA and the Johnson Space Center. Its developers intended it to approximate the lunar soil of the maria. Unlike MLS-1, it simulates a soil that is poor in titanium. It is a basaltic ash with a high glass content.

JSC

JSC may refer to: