Geology of the Moon the Moon. Lunar rocks are in large part made of the same common rock forming minerals as found on Earth, such as olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase feldspar (anorthosite). Plagioclase feldspar is mostly found in the lunar crust, whereas pyroxene and olivine are typically seen in the lunar mantle. The mineral ilmenite is highly abundant in some mare basalts, and a new mineral named armalcolite (named for "Arm"strong, "Al"drin, and "Col"lins, the three members of the Apollo 11 crew) was first discovered in the lunar samples. The maria are composed predominantly of basalt, whereas the highland regions are iron-poor and composed
Period 3 element chloride for use as a deicing agent and a nutrient. The free metal, elemental sodium, does not occur in nature but must be prepared from sodium compounds. Elemental sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. The same ion is also a component of many minerals, such as sodium nitrate. "Magnesium" (symbol Mg) is an alkaline earth metal and has common oxidation number +2. It is the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole. Magnesium is the fourth most common element in the