LHS-1 Lunar Highlands Simulant

1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds

All Exolith Lab products are intended for research and STEM education purposes. By purchasing, you agree that the product will be used for research and STEM education purposes.

Developed By: University of Central Florida
Available From: CLASS Exolith Lab

Spec Sheet    SDS    

The LHS-1 Lunar Highlands Simulant has been developed by the CLASS Exolith Lab. It is a high-fidelity, mineral-based simulant appropriate for a generic or average highlands location on the Moon. The simulant is not made of a single terrestrial lithology, but accurately captures the texture of lunar regolith by combining both mineral and rock fragments (i.e., polymineralic grains) in accurate proportions.

The particle size distribution of the simulant is targeted to match that of typical Apollo soils. LHS-1 does not currently simulate agglutinates or nanophase iron.  However, our agglutinated simulant, LHS-1-25A, does simulate agglutinates characteristic of an intermediately mature Lunar Highlands Regolith. Custom simulated agglutinate mixes are also available upon request.

Mineralogy

The individual minerals that make up our Lunar Simulants are available here

Bulk Chemistry

This table shows the relative abundances of each element detected by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The relative abundances of elements detected by XRF in geological samples are quantified as oxides. In the simulant, these elements are contained in the minerals described in the Mineralogy table above, and not necessarily in oxide form. These data are from the Hamilton Analytical Lab.

_{*Loss on ignition}

_{**Excluding volatiles and trace elements; see spec sheet.}

Physical Properties

Mean Particle Size: 88 µm

Particle Size Range: <0.01 µm – 1000 µm

Bulk density*: 1.30 g/cm3

Grain Density: 3.22 g/cm3

Void Ratio: 1.477

Porosity: 59.6%

Angle of Repose (Avg): 39.58°

*Note that bulk density is not an inherent property and depends on the level of compaction

 We would love to hear about the success of your research. If you have any information you'd like to share with us, please send us an email at exolithlab@ucf.edu.