EXPERIMENTAL REDUCTION OF LUNAR MARE SOIL AND VOLCANIC GLASS

We have reduced high-titanium lunar mare soil and iron-rich lunar volc anic glass with hydrogen at temperatures of 900-1100 degrees C. Ilmeni te is the most reactive phase in the soil, exhibiting rapid and comple te reduction at all temperatures. Ferrous iron in the glass is extensi vely reduced concurrent with partial crystallization. In both samples pyroxene and olivine undergo partial reduction along with chemical and mineralogical modifications. High-temperature reduction provides insi ght into the optical and chemical effects of lunar soil maturation, an d places constraints on models of that process. Mate soil and volcanic glass ate attractive feedstocks for lunar oxygen production, with ach ievable yields of 2-5 wt%.