A new map of the Moon has revealed an abundance of titanium ore that is up to 10 times richer than on Earth, a finding that could one day lead to a lunar mining colony, astronomers said on Friday.
The discovery was made thanks to a camera aboard the US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which swept the surface of the Moon, scrutinising it in seven different light wavelengths.
Mark Robinson of Arizona State University, sifted through the data for telltale jumps in the ratio of ultra-violet to visible light.
They established this signature thanks to rock samples brought back to Earth by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972 and images of the area around the mission's landing site by the Hubble space telescope.
"Looking up at the Moon, its surface appears painted with shades of grey, at least to the human eye," explained Robinson.
"But with the right instruments, the Moon can appear colourful."
"The maria [lunar plains] appears reddish in some places and blue in others."
"Although subtle, these colour variations tell us important things about the chemistry and evolution of the lunar surface. They indicate the titanium and iron abundance, as well as the maturity of a lunar soil."
Titanium is as strong as steel but nearly half as light, which makes it a highly desired -- and also very expensive -- metal.
On Earth, titanium is found, at the very most, in around one percent of similar types of ore. But the new map found abundances in the lunar maria that range from about one percent to 10 percent, the conference organisers said in a press release. In the lunar highlands, abundance was around one percent.
"Lunar titanium is mostly found in the mineral ilmenite, a compound containing iron, titanium and oxygen," they said.
" Future miners living and working on the Moon could break down ilmenite to liberate these elements. ".




天文学家在周五称，一张新的月球地图展示出了在月球上发现了高于地球10倍储备量的钛矿，这个发现有可能会引发一场未来月球采矿业的殖民行为。

这个发现要归功于美国月球轨道勘测器上的一个摄像头。 该探测器利用七种不同光的波长对月球表面进行勘察。

亚利桑那州立大学的马克-罗宾逊，筛选了由紫外线和可见光的比率所得到的数据而得出这一结论（月球上存有钛矿）。
而他们能确定钛矿的位置标记却要归功于在1972年阿波罗17号宇航员带回地球的岩石样本和通过哈伯望远镜观测到的围绕任务着陆点的地区图像。

"抬头仰望月球时，人类的肉眼至少会看到月球表面呈深浅不一的灰色，"罗宾逊解释道。

"但如果使用合适的观测工具去看的话，月球的表面则是异彩纷呈的。"
"玛利亚平原某些地方（月球上的平原）呈淡红色，而其他地方却呈蓝色。"

"虽然很微妙，但这些颜色的变化告诉我们，月球表面发生的化学变化和演变史。他们能显示出月球钛和铁储量的丰富储量和其土壤的成熟度。

钛和铁一样坚硬却只有铁一半的重量，这使得它成为了一种急需而价格昂贵的金属。

地球上能发现的钛储藏量最多只有同类铁矿石储量的百分之一， 但研讨会的组织者在发布会上说，新的月球地图显示出在玛利亚平原上有丰富的钛矿储量，大约从百分之一到百分之十不等。在月球表面的高地上，钛储量（比率）也约有百分之一。

他们说："月球的钛矿主要存在于钛铁矿中，钛铁矿是一种包含了钛和氧气的化合物。"
"未来在月球上生活和工作的矿工们可能会分解钛铁矿从而释放出其所含的这些元素。"

• abundance [ə´bʌndəns] n.丰富，充裕 (初中英语单词)
• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在...上 (初中英语单词)
• visible [´vizəbəl] a.可见的；明显的 (初中英语单词)
• apollo [ə´pɔləu] n.阿波罗 (初中英语单词)
• chemistry [´kemistri] n.化学 (初中英语单词)
• expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• mostly [´məustli] ad.主要地；多半；通常 (初中英语单词)
• mineral [´minərəl] n.矿物 a.矿物的 (初中英语单词)
• compound [kəm´paund] n.&a.混合(的) v.合成 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• liberate [´libəreit] vt.解放，释放，放出 (初中英语单词)
• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
• mining [´mainiŋ] n.采矿；矿业 (高中英语单词)
• arizona [,æri´zəunə] n.亚利桑那(州) (高中英语单词)
• signature [´signətʃə] n.签名；盖章 (高中英语单词)
• reddish [´rediʃ] a.带红色的；微红的 (英语四级单词)
• evolution [,i:və´lu:ʃən] n.进化；发展；发育 (英语四级单词)
• maturity [mə´tjuəriti] n.成熟；完备 (英语四级单词)
• landing [´lændiŋ] n.登陆；降落；楼梯平台 (英语六级单词)