There’s more to the Moon than meets the eye, according to Tom Patrick, of Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory.
If your life lacks excitement on Earth
And you’re wondering what it’s all worth,
Take a trip to the Moon. You’ll be flying back soon,
For you’re sure to have found there’s a dearth
Of the things you’ve got used to down here,
So many of which don’t appear
When you’re stuck in a mare. The sky is still starry,
But it’s black, for there’s no atmosphere.
There’s no thunder, no lightning, no rain,
And no water eroding the plain.
But do not despair, there are rocks everywhere
For geological folk to explain.
On the Moon, there’s no O2 or C,
Though there’s Al and K, and some P
In the basalt and KREEP, without digging deep.
(What you won’t find is rusting Fe!)
What you will find is armalcolite,
Acronymically named for the flight
Of Neil Armstrong and crew. It’s got iron, Mg too,
Ti4 and O10, bonded tight.
There’s anorthosite (Earth has this rock);
And there’s breccia, welded by shock
From huge impacts that smash up the ground in a flash;
And much else. But now let us take stock:
Who could live without clouds and blue sky,
Without rainbows and seagulls that cry,
Without flowers and bees, or shade-giving trees?
Would you live on the Moon? Nor would I.