Research in Physics and Chemistry

Research in Physics and Chemistry contains the proceedings of the Third Lunar International Laboratory Symposium organized by the International Academy of Astronautics at the XVIIIth International Astronautical Congress, held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on September 28, 1967. The papers focus on the technical problems related to the construction of a manned research center on the Moon and consider the fields in which research should initially be undertaken. This book is comprised of nine chapters and begins with an an overview of the physical and chemical properties of the Moon, paying particular attention to the lunar surface and the various types of particles and rays impinging upon it. The reader is then introduced to anticipated vacuum conditions on the Moon and aspects of physico-chemical research in a lunar laboratory. Subsequent chapters discuss the use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze organic matter on the Moon; investigations of the physical and mechanical properties of the Moon's soil from Luna 13; molecular beam experiments in the lunar environment; and metagalactic light measurements from the Moon. The last chapter describes the apparatus, the results, and the system to be used in a proposed optical workshop and repair facility to be established on the Moon. This monograph will be a useful resource for physicists, chemists, and space scientists as well as students and research workers interested in the physics and chemistry of the Moon.