Apollo 17 core sample 73002 clast size analysis

The Light Mantle landslide deposit in Taurus-Littrow Valley, on the Moon, was one of the geological targets of the Apollo 17 mission, as scientists wanted to understand how it formed and which mechanism was responsible for its long runout. A cylindrical sample of the top 70 cm of the Light Mantle deposit, made up of two sections, was collected by Apollo 17 astronauts and kept closed for almost 50 years. As part of the NASA Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative, the sample has been recently opened and it has been made available for study. We used X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) scans of sample 73002 and, for the first time on a lunar core sample, we conducted a 3D analysis of the clast size distribution.The data analysis and visualization of the XCT dataset of core sample 73002 were performed using 3D visualization software Avizo 2022.2 by ThermoFisher at the Micro-CT lab, Imaging and Analysis centre at the Natural History Museum, London.The Excel spreadsheet contains the record of the 674044 identified clasts (Barycentre position, Equivalent Diameter, Volume).

位于月球金牛-利特罗谷（Taurus-Littrow Valley）的亮地幔滑坡沉积体，是阿波罗17号任务的地质考察目标之一。科学家们旨在探明其形成过程与造就其长运距特征的成因机制。阿波罗17号宇航员采集了该沉积体顶部70厘米的圆柱形岩芯样本，该样本分为两段，已被密封保存近50年。作为美国国家航空航天局（NASA）阿波罗下一代样本分析（Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis, ANGSA）计划的一部分，该样本已于近期解封并对外开放以供研究。我们对编号73002的岩芯样本开展了X射线计算机断层扫描（X-ray Computed Tomography，简称XCT），并首次针对月球岩芯样本完成了碎屑粒径分布的三维分析。岩芯样本73002的XCT数据集的数据分析与可视化工作，由伦敦自然历史博物馆成像与分析中心微CT实验室使用赛默飞世尔科技（ThermoFisher）的Avizo 2022.2三维可视化软件完成。本Excel表格收录了已识别出的674044颗碎屑的相关记录，包括质心位置、等效直径与体积。