| Mission | Sample no. |
Basalt type(b) |
Material dated(c) |
Method | Age (Ga)(d) | Source |
| Apollo 11 | 10044 | low-K | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.69 ± 0.05 | Turner, 1970 |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.66 ± 0.04 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.66 ± 0.03 | Geiss et al., 1977 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.62 ± 0.07 | Lunatic Asylum, 1970 | |||
| 10062 | low-K | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.78 ± 0.06 | Turner, 1970 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.79 ± 0.04 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| 5 | Sm-Nd | 3.88 ± 0.06 | Papanastassiou, DePaolo and Wasserburg, 1977 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.92 ± 0.11 | Papanastassiou, DePaolo and Wasserburg, 1977 | |||
| 10072 | high-K | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.49 ± 0.05 | Turner, 1970 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.52 ± 0.04 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| pl | Ar-Ar | 3.57 ± 0.05 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| p1 | Ar-Ar | 3.56 ± 0.06 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| il | Ar-Ar | 3.58 ± 0.05 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| px | Ar-Ar | 3.55 ± 0.05 | Guggisberg et al., 1979 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.57 ± 0.05 | Papanastassiou, DePaolo and Wasserburg, 1977 | |||
| 6 | Sm-Nd | 3.57 ± 0.03 | Papanastassiou, DePaolo and Wasserburg, 1977 | |||
| Apollo 12 | 12002 | olivine | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.21 ± 0.05 | Turner, 1971 |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.18 ± 0.04 | Alexander, Davis, and Reynolds, 1972 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.29 ± 0.10 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1971a | |||
| 12039 | quartz | 6 | Rb-Sr | 3.12 ± 0.06 | Nyquist et al., 1977 | |
| 3 | Sm-Nd | 3.20 ± 0.05 | Nyquist et al., 1979a | |||
| 12051 | quartz | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.13 ± 0.05 | Stettler et al., 1973 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.12 ± 0.07 | Stettler et al., 1973 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.23 ± 0.05 | Turner, 1971 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.25 ± 0.06 | Alexander, Davis, and Reynolds, 1972 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.19 ± 0.10 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1971a | |||
| 4 | Rb-Sr | 3.09 ± 0.04 | Nyquist et al., 1977 | |||
| 12064 | quartz | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.15 ± 0.01 | Horn et al., 1975 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.11 ± 0.09 | Horn et al., 1975 | |||
| 5 | Rb-Sr | 3.11 ± 0.09 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1971a | |||
| Apollo 15 | 15076 | quartz | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.31 ± 0.04 | Stettler et al., 1973 |
| 4 | Rb-Sr | 3.26 ± 0.08 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1973 | |||
| 15555 | olivine | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.29 ± 0.05 | Alexander, Davis, and Lewis, 1972 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.25 ± 0.06 | York, Kenyon, and Doyle 1972 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.28 ± 0.06 | York, Kenyon, and Doyle 1972 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.24 ± 0.06 | Husain et al., 1972 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.19 ± 0.02 | Podosek, Huneke, and Wasserburg, 1972 | |||
| p1 | Ar-Ar | 3.27 ± 0.02 | Podosek, Huneke, and Wasserburg, 1972 | |||
| px | Ar-Ar | 3.24 ± 0.09 | Podosek, Huneke, and Wasserburg, 1972 | |||
| 6 | Rb-Sr | 3.23 ± 0.08 | Murthy et al., 1972 | |||
| 6 | Rb-Sr | 3.27 ± 0.09 | Birck, Fourcade, and Allegre, 1975 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.25 ± 0.04 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1973 | |||
| Apollo 17 | 70035 | high-Ti | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.67 ± 0.07 | Stettler et al., 1973 |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.70 ± 0.07 | Stettler et al., 1973 | |||
| ? | Rb-Sr | 3.75 ± 0.10 | Chappel et al., 1973, cited in Stettler et al., 1973 | |||
| 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.74 ± 0.06 | Evensen, Murthy, and Coscio, 1973 | |||
| 70135 | high-Ti | 7 | Rb-Sr | 3.67 ± 0.09 | Alexander, Davis, and Reynolds, 1972 | |
| 3 | Sm-Nd | 3.77 ± 0.06 | Alexander, Davis, and Reynolds, 1972 | |||
| 75055 | high-Ti | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.71 ± 0.05 | Turner, Cadogan, and Yonge, 1973 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.73 ± 0.04 | Huneke et al., 1973 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.77 ± 0.05 | Kirsten and Horn, 1974 | |||
| 5 | Rb-Sr | 3.75 ± 0.10 | Tatsumoto et al., 1973 | |||
| 6 | Rb-Sr | 3.69 ± 0.06 | Tera, Papanastassiou, and Wasserburg, 1974 | |||
| 75075 | high-Ti | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.71 ± 0.04 | Jessberger, Horn, and Kirsten, 1975 | |
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.66 ± 0.05 | Jessberger, Horn, and Kirsten, 1975 | |||
| wr | Ar-Ar | 3.61 ± 0.04 | Jessberger, Horn, and Kirsten, 1975 | |||
| pl | Ar-Ar | 3.69 ± 0.02 | Jessberger, Horn, and Kirsten, 1975 | |||
| pl | Ar-Ar | 3.67 ± 0.02 | Jessberger, Horn, and Kirsten, 1975 | |||
| 8 | Rb-Sr | 3.76 ± 0.12 | Nyquist, Bansal, and Wiesmann, 1975 | |||
| 4 | Sm-Nd | 3.70 ± 0.07 | Lugmair, Scheinin, and Marti, 1975 | |||
| Luna 16 | B-1 | alumi‑ nous | wr | Ar-Ar | 3.45 ± 0.04 | Huneke, Podosek, and Wasserburg, 1972 |
| 5 | Rb-Sr | 3.42 ± 0.18 | Papanastassiou and Wasserburg, 1972b |
(a) From Dalrymple, G. Brent. 1991. “The Age of the Earth”. Stanford University Press. Copyright © 1991 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
(c) Numbers represent number of points in isochron; wr, whole rock; pl, plagioclase; px, pyroxene; il, ilmenite.
(d) All ages calculated with the decay constants in Table 3.1. Errors are at the 95% confidence level (two standard deviations). Ages underlined are shown as figures. Ages are based on either isochron (Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd) or 40Ar/39Ar age-spectrum (Ar-Ar) methods. Included are data with analytical uncertainties of 0.1 Ga (two standard deviations) or less, except for three results that are included to maximize the number of methods for the sample.
Alexander, E. C., Jr., P. K. Davis, and R. S. Lewis. 1972. Argon-40—Argon-39 dating of Apollo sample 15555. Science, vol. 175, pp. 417-19.
Alexander, E. C., Jr., P. K. Davis, and P. H. Reynolds. 1972. Rare-gas analyses of neutron irradiated Apollo 12 samples. Proceedings of the Third Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1787-95.
Birck, J. L., S. Fourcade, and C. J. Allegre. 1975. 87Rb-86Sr age of rocks from the Apollo 15 landing site and significance of internal isochrons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 26, pp. 29-35.
Evensen, N. M., V. R. Murthy, and M. R. Coscio, Jr. 1973. Rb–Sr ages of some mare basalts and the isotopic and trace element systematics in lunar fines. Proceedings of the Fourth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1707-24.
Geiss, J., P. Eberhardt, N. Grögler, S. Guggisberg, P. Maurer, and A. Stettler. 1977. The filling of the mare basins. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, series A, vol. 285, pp. 151-58.
Guggisberg, S., P. Eberhardt, J. Geiss, N. Grögler, A. Settler, G. M. Brown, and A. Peckett. 1979. Classification of the Apollo-11 mare basalts according to Ar39-Ar40 ages and petrological properties. Proceedings of the Tenth Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, pp. 1-39.
Huneke, J. C., E. K. Jessberger, F. A. Podosek, and G. J. Wasserburg. 1973. 40Ar/39Ar measurements in Apollo 16 and 17 samples and the chronology of metamorphic and volcanic activity in the Taurus–Littrow region. Proceedings of the Fourth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1725-56.
Huneke, J. C., F. A. Podosek, and G. J. Wasserburg. 1972. Gas retention and cosmic ray exposure ages of a basalt fragment from Mare Fecunditatis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 13, pp. 375-83.
Horn, P., E. K. Jessberger, T. Kirsten, and H. Richter. 1975. 39Ar-40Ar dating of lunar rocks: Effects of grain size and neutron irradiation. Proceedings of the Sixth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1563-91.
Husain, L., O. A. Schaeffer, J. Funkhouser, and J. Sutter. 1972. The ages of lunar material from Fra Mauro, Hadley Rille, and Spur Crater. Proceedings of the Third Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1557-68.
Jessberger, E. K., P. Horn, and T. Kirsten. 1975. 39Ar-40Ar dating of lunar rocks: A methodical investigation of mare basalt 75075. Lunar Science. vol. VI, pp. 441-43.
Kirsten, T., and P. Horn. 1974. Chronology of the Taurus-Littrow region III: Ages of mare basalts and highland breccias and some remarks about the interpretation of lunar highland rock ages. Proceedings of the Fifth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1451-76.
Lugmair, G. W., N. B. Scheinin, and K. Marti. 1975. Sm-Nd age and history of Apollo 17 basalt 75075: Evidence for early differentiation of the lunar exterior. Proceedings of the Sixth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1419-29.
Lunatic Asylum. 1970. Ages, irradiation history, and chemical composition of lunar rocks from the Sea of Tranquility. Science, vol. 167, pp. 463-66.
Murthy, V. R., N. M. Evensen, B. M. Jahn, and M. R. Coscio, Jr. 1972. Apollo 15 and 16 samples: Rb–Sr ages, trace elements, and lunar evolution. Proceedings of the Third Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1503-14.
Nyquist, L. E., B. M. Bansal, and H. Wiesmann. 1975. Rb–Sr ages and initial 87Sr/86Sr for Apollo 17 basalts and KREEP basalt 15386. Proceedings of the Sixth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1445-65.
Nyquist, L. E., B. M. Bansal, J. L. Wooden, and H. Wiesmann. 1977. Sr-isotopic constraints on the petrogenesis of Apollo 12 mare basalts. Proceedings of the Eighth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1383-415.
Nyquist, L. E., C.-Y. Shih, J. L. Wooden, B. M. Bansal, and H. Wiesmann. 1979a. The Sr and Nd isotopic record of Apollo 12 basalts: Implications for lunar geochemical evolution. Proceedings of the Tenth Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, pp. 77-114.
Papanastassiou, D. A., D. J. DePaolo, and G. J. Wasserburg. 1977. Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd chronology and genealogy of mare basalts from the Sea of Tranquility. Proceedings of the Eighth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1639— 72.
Papanastassiou, D. A., and G. J. Wasserburg. 1969. Initial strontium isotopic abundances and the resolution of small time differences in the formation of planetary objects. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 5, pp. 361-76.
————— 1971a. Lunar chronology and evolution from Rb— Sr studies of Apollo 11 and 12 samples. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 11, pp. 37-62.
————— 1972b. Rb-Sr age of a Luna 16 basalt and model age of lunar soils. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 13, pp. 368-74.
————— 1973. Rb-Sr ages and initial strontium in basalts from Apollo 15. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 17, pp. 324-37.
Podosek, F. A., J.C. Huneke, and G. J. Wasserburg. 1972. Gas-retention and cosmic-ray exposure ages of lunar rock 15555. Science, vol. 175, pp. 423-25.
Stettler, A., P. Eberhardt, J. Geiss, N. Grögler, and P. Maurer. 1973. Ar39-Ar40 ages and Ar37-Ar38 exposure ages of lunar rocks. Proceedings of the Fourth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1865-88.
Tatsumoto, M., P. D. Nunes, R. J. Knight, C. E. Hedge, and D. M. Unruh. 1973. U-Th-Pb, Rb- Sr, and K measurements of two Apollo 17 samples. Eos, vol. 54, v. 614.
Tera, F., D. A. Papanastassiou, and G. J. Wasserburg. 1974. Isotopic evidence for a terminal lunar cataclysm. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 22, pp. 1-21.
Turner, G. 1970. Argon-40/Argon-39 dating of lunar rock samples. Proceedings of the First Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1665-84.
————— 1971. 40Ar-39Ar ages from the lunar maria. Earth
and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 11, pp. 169-91.
Turner, G., P. H. Cadogan, and C. J. Yonge. 1973. Argon selenochronology. Proceedings
of the Fourth Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1889-914.
York, D., W. J. Kenyon, and R. J. Doyle. 1972. 40Ar-39Ar ages of Apollo 14 and 15 samples. Proceedings of the Third Lunar Science Conference, pp. 1613-22.