Summary

The paper introduces EAC-1A, a novel lunar regolith simulant derived from basanitic sandy silt in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field. It is compared to existing simulants like JSC-1A, JSC-2A, NU-LHT-3M, DNA, and FJS-1. The simulant is characterized using physical and chemical methods including sphericity, density, cohesion, angle of repose, petrographical analysis, SEM, XRF, XRD, and DSC. It is intended for use in the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA). The paper introduces EAC-1A as a lunar regolith simulant, comparing it to JSC-1A, JSC-2A, DNA, FJS-1, and NU-LHT-3M. It details grain size distribution, water content, and density measurements. EAC-1A has a median grain size of 6.47 (~11 m) and a poor sorting grade. Water content is ~0.8 wt%, and density measurements are provided using a gas pycnometer and ASTM D4442 standard. The paper presents EAC-1A as a novel lunar regolith simulant with properties comparable to lunar regolith. Bulk densities of EAC-1A, JSC-1A, JSC-2A, DNA, and NU-LHT-3M are 1.45, 1.56, 1.44, 1.27, and 1.54 g/cm³ respectively. Absolute densities are 2.90, 2.92, 2.89, 2.79, and 3.08 g/cm³. Cohesion values for EAC-1A at 1.95 g/cm³ is 0.38 kPa. Sphericity m

Methods and applications