simulants, feedstocks, and Additives
Feedstocks For Our Lunar Regolith Simulants
Material: Archean Anorthosite
Source: Shawmere Anorthosite Complex, Foleyet, Ontario, Canada
This rare material is mineralogically similar to lunar anorthosite. The Shawmere formation has been the preferred source of feedstock to make other Highland simulants in the past because anorthosites from this formation are largely un-altered from their original state.
Material: Basaltic Cinder
Source: San Francisco Formation in Arizona, USA
The source for this feedstock is the same source used for JSC-1 due to its mineralogical similarity to low-titanium basalt regoliths found in the Mare regions on the Moon. This cinder has a high glass content which helps simulate basaltic regolith.
Additives for our lunar simulant
This is just a few of the additives we can include in our simulants. Please contact us for additional information or requests.
Material: Ilmenite
This is a titanium and iron based mineral that is also high in oxygen and is common in some lunar mare basalts.
We crush, sift, and recombine the ilmenite before blending it into our simulants to assure it has the correct particle size distribution. We can customize the ilmenite content of our Mare simulants to meet the needs of our clients. Our standard high titanium Mare simulants have 14.4% ilmenite.
Designation: Agglutinates
Name: Off Planet Research, Kind of Simulant, Agglutinates
The agglutinate component of lunar regolith is critical for certain types of testing. Our simulated agglutinates are mechanically similar to lunar agglutinates. Agglutinates are formed by micrometeorite impacts into the lunar regolith, and are formed from the material in which they are found. The agglutinates included in our simulants are produced from their base simulant to better approximate lunar agglutinates.
Material: Iron and Iron oxide
We offer several types of iron (Fe) and iron oxide (FeO) that can be added to the simulant in a range of particle sizes. The iron is used to customize the composition of the simulant to match specific user requirements.
Material: Silica Dioxide
High purity, natural crystalline silica can be added to simulants to approximate the chemistry of the Apollo samples.
We can customize the silica content in our simulants to meet the needs of our clients.
Lunar Regolith Simulants
Below is a list of our general and specialized regolith simulants; we can also make custom simulants to approximate the regolith anywhere on the Moon according to currently available information or per customer request. OPR’s lunar regolith simulants are an excellent choice for testing small and full-scale systems.
Contact us for our most updated simulant specifications.
Designation: OPRH2N, OPRH3N, & OPRH4N
Name: Off Planet Research, Highland, Group 2, 3 & 4, Non-Agglutinate
These are general representative Highland regolith simulants for the near and far sides of the Moon. OPRH2N is modeled after the average samples of Highland regolith gathered during the Apollo 17 mission. OPRH2N 70% anorthosite and 30% basaltic cinder, OPRH3N is 80% anorthosite and 20% basaltic cinder, and OPRH4N is 90% anorthosite and 10% basaltic cinder.
Agglutinates can be added upon request.
The cohesion, particle size distribution, and geotechnical and terramechanical properties of this simulant are good approximations for Highland lunar regolith.
Designation: OPRL2N
Name: Off Planet Research, Mare, Group 2, Non-Agglutinate
This is a general representative Mare regolith simulant modeled after the average samples of Mare regolith gathered during the Apollo missions. It is 90% basaltic cinder and 10% anorthosite.
Agglutinates can be added upon request.
The cohesion, particle size distribution, and geotechnical and terramechanical properties of this simulant are good approximations for Mare lunar regolith.
Designation: OPRL2NT
Name: Off Planet Research, Mare, Group 2, Non-Agglutinate, Higher-Titanium.
This is a general representative higher-titanium Mare regolith simulant modeled after the average samples of Mare regolith gathered during the Apollo missions. It is 77% basaltic cinder and 8.6% anorthosite and 14.4% ilmenite.
Agglutinates can be added upon request.
Increased Magnetic Response Simulant
Name: Off Planet Research, Type of Simulant, Higher-Iron
The increased magnetic response simulant mechanically creates an iron-rich rim that approximates the embedded iron in lunar particles that is not usually found in lunar simulants.
This simulant is customized to meet the client's specifications.
Designation: OPRFLCROSS2
Name: Off Planet Research, Ice, LCROSS
OPRFLCROSS2 is a lunar ice simulant based on the LCROSS mission results as reported in "Detection of Water in the LCROSS Ejecta Plume" Anthony Colaprete, et al. Science 330, 463 (2010); DOI: 10.1126/science.1186986
The chemical composition of OPRFLCROSS2 includes Water, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide, Methane, Ethane, Ammonia, and Methanol.
Contact us for custom compositions.
Unicorn Simulant
Have a wild idea or a simulant wish that seems too far out there to be made a reality?
We want to hear about it and make it happen!
Contact us with your detailed request.