SLAS Regular Meeting
Friday, September 18, 7:30 pm
McDonnell Hall, Washington University

The Exploration of the Moon through Time

by

Dr. Ryan Zeigler
Washington University

The Moon is the most accessible astronomical object. The craters and lava ?seas? that cover its surface are easily seen, even through small telescopes. But great advances in understanding the nature and origin of our natural satellite have been made by actually going to the Moon. Within the past few years, robot spacecraft launched by NASA, Europe, Japan, China, and India have analyzed the lunar surface and interior from lunar orbit. Several countries are planning to send humans to the Moon for extended stays, perhaps within the next decade. Dr. Zeigler will talk about past, present, and future exploration of Earth?s satellite. In addition to remote sensing results from the current NASA missions, he will discuss the continuing laboratory studies here in Saint Louis of lunar surface samples - meteorites and rocks collected by the Apollo astronauts forty years ago.

Ryan Zeigler is a Research Scientist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University. He studies the physical characteristics and chemistry of lunar samples, using advanced instrumentation such as the electron microprobe and neutron activation.