Orthopyroxene-Plagioclase Fragments in the Lunar Soil from Apollo 12

Abstract

Rock fragments consisting of orthopyroxene-calcic plagioclase assemblages appear to be more common in Apollo 12 soil samples than in the breccias or soil from Apollo 11 and are mineralogically and chemically different from any of the crystalline rocks returned by either Apollo 11 or Apollo 12. Compositionally, these fragments are orthopyroxenites and feldspathic orthopyroxenites. They are probably not fragments of meteorites; other considerations point to a near-surface lunar origin.