O niektórych procesach i zjawiskach geologicznych na Księżycu

Abstract

ON SOME GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND PHENOMENA ON THE MOON

Summary

Two states investigate the Moon using the rockets, artificial satellites and spaceorafts – Soviet Union and United States of America.
Soviet Union has investigated the-Moon using satellites Łunnik-, Łuna and Sonda. Some of these spacecrafts investigated the Moon from the lunar orbit and some landed on the lunar surface. Last year Soviet Union investigated the Moon using the first automatic vehicle – Łunochod 1. Łunochod investigated lunar Sea of Rains, its rocks and craters and some geophysical phenomenons.
Before Apollo missions United States had investigated the Moon using satellites Lunar Orbit and unmanned spacecrafts Surveyor. Now United States send the astronauts of Apollo project to the Moon.
The artificial satellites and unmanned spacecrafts and astronauts of Apollo project gathered a lot of scientific data concerning internal structure of the Moon; structure of its crust, geological processes and phenomenons on the Moon and lunar rocks and minerals.
The lunar surface is very convenient for geological investigations because the Moon has neither atmosphere and nor hydrosphere. The surface of the Moon is probably unchanged for many millions years. It is very possible that the surface of the Earth resembled the surface of the Moon when our Planet had no hydrosphere. The existence of terrestrial atmosphere and hydrosphere and activity of many geological processes have completely changed the surface of our planet.
The seismic investigated on the Moon have proved that seismic shocks on the Moon are very rare and very weak. It is very possible that the interior of the Moon is quite extinguished. And that is why we cannot define internal structure of the Moon in similar manner as we have defined the internal structure of the Earth. We can only suppose that the interior structure of the Moon is very similar to that of the Earth.
We can observe the same geological processes on the Moon as on the Earth weathering of the rocks, rock – and debris fans and slides, vulcanism and deformations of the lunar crust.
Every mission to the Moon enriches our knowledge about our natural satellite. Lunar rocks are investigated in terrestrial laboratories. Now we know the kinds of lunar rocks, lunar minerals and their ages. The eldest rocks of the Moon have the same ages as the terrestrial eldest rooks and it seems that the both planets were created at the same time. Our knowledge of geological processes on the Earth helps us to understand similar processes on the Moon. But the investigations of the Moon help us to understand the past of the Earth.