The lunar highlands represent the ancient lunar crust that has been gardened extensively by meteoritic bombardment, particularly during the early period of intense bombardment around 3.9 Ga ago, resulting in extensive brecciation. Another impact basin related unit is the Nectarian unit, defined around the Nectarian Basin. Chandrayaan proves lunar highlands were formed by magma Chandrayaan-1 is certainly making strides in the time it has been around the Moon. However, a low angle impact can produce a central peak that is offset from the midpoint of the crater. to navigate. -- javascript -- The two younger stratigraphical units can be found in crater sized spots on the Moon. These rocks are thought to be related to the petrogenesis of KREEP. in a sentence. The fragments composing this soil are from the break up of highlands rocks by meteorites. They are typically 8–12 km in diameter, but can be up to 20 km across. However, the lunar highlands differ from the lunar lowlands mainly in their concentrations of the metal oxides. The largest impacts produced melt sheets of molten rock that covered portions of the surface that could be as thick as a kilometer. side has a floating menu, The mafic impact melt breccias, which are typified by the low-K Fra Mauro composition, have a higher proportion of iron and magnesium than typical upper crust anorthositic rocks, as well as higher abundances of KREEP. These are composed mainly of plagioclase feldspar; some fragments were composed exclusively of anorthositic plagioclase. If you or one of your friends or associates may be interested, please send an email to spaceprogrammer at ... of course this domain. -- navigate -- Lunar rocks contain ____ H2O. Furthermore, measurements from orbit show that some portions of the lunar surface are associated with strong magnetic fields. A handful of lunar meteorites have been recognized on Earth, though their source craters on the Moon are unknown. NOTICE: Today, the giant-impact hypothesis is widely accepted by the scientific community.[3]. The existence of pyroclastic eruptions was later confirmed by the discovery of glass spherules similar to those found in pyroclastic eruptions here on Earth. Lunar Highlands Rocks Highlands rock samples are typically brecciasformed as the young Moon's original igneous crust was demolished during millions of years of impact bombardment; imagine wrecking balls falling from the sky, over and over. Rocks brought back from the highlands vary in age between 3.84 and 4.48 billion years old. It will create and secure a better future for your children and grandchildren. Hide Annotations; Show Annotations; Highland Soil . The geology of the Moon (sometimes called selenology, although the latter term can refer more generally to "lunar science") is quite different from that of Earth. This realization allowed the impact history of the Moon to be gradually worked out by means of the geologic principle of superposition. One of the most notable sinuous rilles is the Vallis Schröteri feature, located in the Aristarchus plateau along the eastern edge of Oceanus Procellarum. Anorthosite / æ n ˈ ɔːr θ ə s aɪ t / is a phaneritic, intrusive igneous rock characterized by its composition: mostly plagioclase feldspar (90–100%), with a minimal mafic component (0–10%). Because the first sampling of rocks contained a high content of ilmenite and other related minerals, they received the name of "high titanium" basalts. The Apollo 17 mission landed in an area in which the material coming from the crater Tycho might have been sampled. However, the period between 4.5 and 4.0 billion years ago was marked by heavy bombardment by meteors and asteroids, causing intense cratering. Lunar highland areas include most of the farside and southern part of the nearside of the Moon. About 85% of the Moon’s surface is covered by lunar highlands. The light-colored highlands are … Sentences Mobile. You can call anytime, 24/7, at +66-8-1135-7977 The lunar maria (singular: mare) are the dark spots on the Moon. However, the lavas melted preexisting aluminum-rich surface materials and mixed with them. The regolith is predominantly composed of materials found in the region, but also contains traces of materials ejected by distant impact craters. The chemical composition of the regolith varies according to its location; the regolith in the highlands is rich in aluminium and silica, just as the rocks in those regions. ... How old are the rocks from the lunar highlands? The first important event in the geologic evolution of the Moon was the crystallization of the near global magma ocean. composed of igneous rock, breccia, glass beads, and fine lunar dust. They named the lunar highlands for the mountains of Earth, not knowing that the mountains of the moon were formed by a … This has led geologists to speculate as to the genetic relationship between the lunar highlands and mare. Starting about 4.5 billion years ago,[4] the newly formed Moon was in a molten state and was orbiting much closer to Earth resulting in tidal forces. A large portion of the mare formed, or flowed into, the low elevations associated with the nearside impact basins. Many of the lunar basalts contain small holes called vesicles, which were formed by gas bubbles exsolving from the magma at the vacuum conditions encountered at the surface. The Moon lacks a true atmosphere, which eliminates erosion due to weather. In most of the lunar regolith, half of the particles are made of mineral fragments fused by the glassy particles; these objects are called agglutinates. Are you a PHP / MySQL programmer interested in getting into space development as a career, or already working in space development? Lighter surfaces are the lunar highlands, which receive the name of terrae (singular terra, from the Latin for Earth), and the darker plains are called maria (singular mare, from the Latin for sea), after Johannes Kepler who introduced the name in the 17th century. [12][13][14] Following the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, many lunar lava tubes have been imaged. Studies of the Moon's physical librations (small perturbations to its rotation) furthermore indicate that the core is still molten. To get updates on PERMANENT (occasional, not frequent), get on our mailing list. Most of the breccias returned by the Apollo missions were formed in the ancient lunar highlands about 3900 to 4000 million years ago. Another significant component of the crust are the igneous Mg-suite rocks, such as the troctolites, norites, and KREEP-basalts. Rille, any of various valleys or trenches on the surface of the Moon. do not run A steroids N ear E arth in the N ear T erm. Definition of Lunar Terms Agglutinates Agglutinates consist of comminuted rock, mineral, and glass fragments bonded together with glass. Quickly after the lunar crust formed, or even as it was forming, different types of magmas that would give rise to the Mg-suite norites and troctolites[6] began to form, although the exact depths at which this occurred are not known precisely. Text by Mark Prado, Copyright © 1983-2021, All Rights Reserved.Many website artistic design elements by Sam Fraser, Copyright © 1999-2021, All Rights Reserved.Except where specifically stated otherwise, Copyright © 1983-2021 by Mark Evan Prado, All Rights ReservedSource: https://www.permanent.comP rojects to E mploy R esources of the M oon and Abstract. Mare, plural maria, any flat, dark plain of lower elevation on the Moon. It is functional, and been used a long time, but there are some bugs. Despite the name, they are are not water though, just a darker type of rock. Menu: A lunar lava cave potential has long been suggested and discussed in literature and thesis. This erosional process softens and rounds the features of the crater. Although the Moon does not have a dipolar magnetic field like Earth's, some of the returned rocks do have strong magnetizations. Because highlands are mainly composed of light-color anorthosite, they have a high solar reflectivity. It is not known with certainty what its depth was, but several studies imply a depth of about 500 km or greater. Although variations in the crustal thickness might act to modulate the amount of magma that ultimately reaches the surface, this hypothesis does not explain why the farside South Pole-Aitken basin, whose crust is thinner than Oceanus Procellarum, was only modestly filled by volcanic products. Additionally, the ejecta from oblique impacts show distinctive patterns at different impact angles: asymmetry starting around 60˚ and a wedge-shaped "zone of avoidance" free of ejecta in the direction the projectile came from starting around 45˚.[10]. We want to put information online for the general public pending a security review of the programming code. Plagioclase feldspar is mostly found in the lunar crust, whereas pyroxene and olivine are typically seen in the lunar mantle. [11] Any intact lava tube on the Moon could serve as a shelter from the severe environment of the lunar surface, with its frequent meteorite impacts, high-energy ultraviolet radiation and energetic particles, and extreme diurnal temperature variations. In fact, this crust is quite rich in aluminum and calcium compared to Earth's crust. 4-4.4 billion years: Term. The lava was rich in the heavier radioactive elements which had initially settled well below the crust, and the radioactivity kept the molten seas of lava hot for millions upon millions of years. After resumption of Lunar exploration in the 1990s, it was discovered there are scarps across the globe that are caused by the contraction due to cooling of the Moon.[8]. The term mega-regolith is often used to describe the heavily fractured bedrock directly beneath the near-surface regolith layer. After Step 3, the main mission is accomplished, as regards PHP / MySQL, though of course we hope to keep people engaged and happy, and the sky's not the limit. then you must Impact cratering is the most notable geological process on the Moon. These deposits cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they can be seen in images taken from telescopes or orbiting spacecraft. Based on observations from the mission, it is generally thought that this rille was formed by volcanic processes, a topic long debated before the mission took place. Although the initial Apollo-era analyses suggested a crustal thickness of about 60 km at this site, recent reanalyses of this data suggest that it is thinner, somewhere between about 30 and 45 km. using the Site Map above. The word rima (from Latin, ‘fissure’) is often used for the same kind of features. That is, if a crater (or its ejecta) overlaid another, it must be the younger. The elevation of lunar highlands is 2–3 km higher than maria, and the areas tend to be larger than maria. Evidence for this scenario comes from the highly anorthositic composition of the lunar highland crust, as well as the existence of KREEP-rich materials. Rocks produced during the same time appear to be totally missing from the record on Earth. Subsequent missions, including the Soviet robotic probes, returned with basalts with even lower concentrations, now called "very low titanium" basalts. At the bottom of the lunar stratigraphical sequence the pre-Nectarian unit of old crater plains can be found. After revealing traces of iron deposits and formation of craters recently, it is now showing pin-point evidence on the evolution of the Moon. Importantly, elements that are incompatible (i.e., those that partition preferentially into the liquid phase) would have been progressively concentrated into the magma as crystallization progressed, forming a KREEP-rich magma that initially should have been sandwiched between the crust and mantle. The resulting material which makes up the surface of these ancient lava seas is rich in iron and magnesium minerals, with a remarkably high content of titanium minerals. Most planetary bodies and moons have iron cores that are about half the size of the body. Mass and moment of inertia constraints indicate that the Moon likely has an iron core that is less than about 450 km in radius. The process of space weathering gradually decreases the albedo of this material such that the rays fade with time. Number of dust impacts onto the Lunar Ejecta and Meteorite (LEAM) experiment Since the lunar highlands are underrepresented in the Apollo and … In a very general sense, the lunar history of impact cratering follows a trend of decreasing crater size with time. Below them two extending strata can be found: mare units (earlier defined as Procellarian unit) and the Imbrium basin related ejecta and tectonic units (Imbrian units). Adopting this approach in the late 1950s, Gene Shoemaker took the systematic study of the Moon away from the astronomers and placed it firmly in the hands of the lunar geologists.[9]. For example, the global lunar magma ocean hypothesis [e.g. The oldest of the Mg-suite rocks have crystallization ages of about 3.85 Ga. In support of this, it has been noted that the largest crustal magnetizations appear to be located near the antipodes of the largest impact basins. There are only two types of regions on the Moon's surface. Its low bulk density (~3346 kg m−3) indicates a low metal abundance. The glass is black in bulk but pale to dark brown in thin section, and is characteristically heterogeneous with dark-brown flow banding or “schlieren.” The surface of the Moon has been subject to billions of years of collisions with both small and large asteroidal and cometary materials. The highlands geology is mostly composed of overlapping layers of material ejected from craters, predominantly the initial anorthosite (aluminum rich) crust. The maria often coincide with the "lowlands," but it is important to note that the lowlands (such as within the South Pole-Aitken basin) are not always covered by maria. Michael Anissimov Date: January 19, 2021 The lunar maria are dark spots on the Moon.. The majority of basaltic eruptions occurred between about 3 and 3.5 Ga ago, though some mare samples have ages as old as 4.2 Ga, and the youngest (based on the method of crater counting) are thought to have erupted 1 billion years ago. As regards PHP / MySQL, some offline databases go into the 2010s, as regards professional publications, engineers, companies, etc., and this is what we need programming help with. The lunar regolith is very important because it also stores information about the history of the Sun. ... Rilles are lunar canyons most likely carved by ancient lava flows and/or crustal cracking. The mass of the Moon is sufficient to eliminate any voids within the interior, so it is estimated to be composed of solid rock throughout. It is divided into light areas called the Lunar Highlands and darker areas called Maria (literally, "seas"; the singular is Mare). A limited paid role would be considered on a tight budget, such as for at least bug fixing with some minor improvements, and/or a security review of our code before it goes online publicly. Lunar Exploration Objectives and Requirements Definition. Other major differences are that the Moon does not currently have a dipolar magnetic field (as would be generated by a geodynamo in its core), and the magnetizations that are present are almost entirely crustal in origin. Thus the lunar highlands afford us the opportunity to study processes that were operative during planetary formation and early evolution; … [7] Some of the most important craters used in lunar stratigraphy formed in this recent epoch. of the Moon. Some small improvements would help its usability. The main characteristics of the basaltic rocks with respect to the rocks of the lunar highlands is that the basalts contain higher abundances of olivine and pyroxene, and less plagioclase. Small craters tend to form a bowl shape, whereas larger impacts can have a central peak with flat floors. Wrinkle ridges are features created by compressive tectonic forces within the maria. [15] These lunar pits are found in several locations across the Moon, including Marius Hills, Mare Ingenii and Mare Tranquillitatis. The most recent impacts are distinguished by well-defined features, including a sharp-edged rim. A prime example of such an outlined feature is the crater Letronne. Pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, and olivine are the mafic minerals most commonly present.. Anorthosites are of enormous geologic interest, because it is still not fully understood how they form. Lunar highlands, on the other hand, also called terrae, are the light colored parts of the Moon. In addition, three robotic Soviet Luna spacecraft returned another 326 grams (11.5 oz) from 1970 to 1976, and the Chinese robotic Chang'e 5 returned a sample of 1,731 g (61.1 oz) in 2020. The Moon that we see is dominated by two units with different albedo: Another type of deposit associated with the maria, although it also covers the highland areas, are the "dark mantle" deposits. It could be an interesting, cool, and a fun adventure for your life. Of these, the subcategories are called fragmental, granulitic, and impact-melt breccias, depending on how they were formed. The identification of these mineral fragments led to the bold hypothesis that a large portion of the Moon was once molten, and that the crust formed by fractional crystallization of this magma ocean. Or do you know somebody else who might be interested? The regolith contains rocks, fragments of minerals from the original bedrock, and glassy particles formed during the impacts. The craters are formed when a solid body, such as an asteroid or comet, collides with the surface at a high velocity (mean impact velocities for the Moon are about 17 km per second). Most grabens are found within the lunar maria near the edges of large impact basins. The difference in color indicates the concentration of titanium that the rock has, with the green particles having the lowest concentrations (about 1%), and red particles having the highest concentrations (up to 14%, much more than the basalts with the highest concentrations). "Mare" is pronounced "mah-ray," not like a female horse. Page 2/120 ... (Apollo 17 soil 71060) and lunar highlands (Apollo 16 soils 67700). They are richer in iron than terrestrial basalts, and also have lower viscosities. V. Barkin, J. M. Ferrándiz and Juan F. Navarro, 'Terrestrial tidal variations in the selenopotential coefficients,', Video (04:56) – The Moon in 4K (NASA, April 2018), Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Distribution of hydrogen at the surface of the moon", "Ancient lunar dynamo may explain magnetized moon rocks", "NASA's LRO Reveals 'Incredible Shrinking Moon, Marius Hills Pit Offers Potential Location for Lunar Base, Scientists eye moon colonies - in the holes on the lunar surface, To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration, "Gamma Rays, Meteorites, Lunar Samples, and the Composition of the Moon", "Lunar Crater Rays Point to a New Lunar Time Scale", "Hafnium, Tungsten, and the Differentiation of the Moon and Mars", Lunar and Planetary Institute: Exploring the Moon, Ralph Aeschliman Planetary Cartography and Graphics: Lunar Maps, Lunar Gravity, Topography and Crustal Thickness Archive, Lunar and Planetary Institute: Lunar Atlas and Photography Collection, Moon articles in Planetary Science Research Discoveries, Another Hit to Hoax:Traces of Man on Lunar Surface, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&oldid=1022814754#Highlands, Articles with dead external links from October 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with manual scaled images, Articles needing additional references from August 2011, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 May 2021, at 17:03. Dark regions on the Moon are called maria. The current status is we have some working databases which we have been using internally for a long time for organizing professional publications, and to track people (authors, R&D people, other professionals, quality volunteers, journalists, etc.) They range in age from about 3.16 billion years old for the basaltic samples derived from the lunar maria, up to about 4.44 billion years old for rocks derived from the highlands. Along with mare volcanism came pyroclastic eruptions, which launched molten basaltic materials hundreds of kilometers away from the volcano. The origin of the Moon's craters as impact features became widely accepted only in the 1960s. These craters are sometimes formed in clearly discernible radial patterns, and generally have shallower depths than primary craters of the same size. Mare rocks have been measured to be between 3.15 and 3.77 years old. The samples of pyroclastic glasses are of green, yellow, and red tints. The Moon is the only extraterrestrial body for which we have samples with a known geologic context. For example, the crater Copernicus, which has a depth of 3.76 km and a radius of 93 km, is estimated to have formed about 900 million years ago (though this is debatable). On the top of the lunar stratigraphical sequence rayed impact craters can be found. Alternatively, it is possible that on airless bodies such as the Moon, transient magnetic fields could be generated during impact processes. There is an ongoing process to update this website in 2019 with a target relaunch in 2020. This is a volunteer, unpaid role at this point in time. Within the next Ga or so, magma surfaced through cracks and fissures from hundreds of km deep, filling the basins and thus hardening to form maria. Dating. Site Map This website is actually very out of date. Some of these ridges may outline buried craters or other features beneath the maria. By following these meandering rilles back to their source, they often lead to an old volcanic vent. Before the Apollo missions, scientists predicted that they were deposits produced by pyroclastic eruptions. Grabens are tectonic features that form under extensional stresses. highlands, lunar. The amount of erosion experienced by a crater was another clue to its age, though this is more subjective. We are updating our databases on people, organizations, publications, and other things, for open source space development for all. However, it is now recognized that ejecta from the Imbrium impact basin (one of the youngest large impact basins on the Moon) should be found at all of the Apollo landing sites. The ages of the mare basalts have been determined both by direct radiometric dating and by the technique of crater counting. The lunar landscape is characterized by impact craters, their ejecta, a few volcanoes, hills, lava flows and depressions filled by magma. Definition: The term regolith refers to any layer of material covering solid rock, which can come in the form of dust, soil or broken rock. These craters appear in a continuum of diameters across the surface of the Moon, ranging in size from tiny pits to the immense South Pole–Aitken basin with a diameter of nearly 2,500 km and a depth of 13 km. However, it is unlikely that a causal relationship exists between the impact event and mare volcanism because the impact basins are much older (by about 500 million years) than the mare fill. The most distinctive aspect of the Moon is the contrast between its bright and dark zones. The term, which in Latin means “sea,” was erroneously applied to such features by telescopic observers of the 17th century. Compared with that of Earth, the Moon has only a very weak external magnetic field. Furthermore, Oceanus Procellarum, which is the largest expanse of mare volcanism on the Moon, does not correspond to any known impact basin. The oldest radiometric ages are about 4.2 Ga, whereas the youngest ages determined from crater counting are about 1 Ga (1 Ga = 1 billion years). The thickness of the lunar regolith varies between 2 meters (6.6 ft) beneath the younger maria, to up to 20 meters (66 ft) beneath the oldest surfaces of the lunar highlands. ..... 32 Figure 6.1. The Moon is thus anomalous in having a core whose size is only about one quarter of its radius. These features represent buckling of the surface and form long ridges across parts of the maria. The Apollo 12 mission returned to Earth with basalts of lower titanium concentrations, and these were dubbed "low titanium" basalts. These are distinguished from catena, or crater chains, which are linear strings of craters that are formed when the impact body breaks up prior to impact. This is the Eratosthenian unit. The term was introduced by early telescopic observers—probably by the German astronomer Johann Schroeter—to denote such lunar features. Laboratory experiments at NASA's Ames Research Center have demonstrated that even very low-angle impacts tend to produce circular craters, and that elliptical craters start forming at impact angles below five degrees. The geological history of the Moon has been defined into six major epochs, called the lunar geologic timescale. The maria are clearly younger than the surrounding highlands given their lower density of impact craters. These are large flows of basaltic lava that correspond to low-albedo surfaces covering nearly a third of the near side. Lunar breccias are the lithified aggregates of clastic debris and melt generated by meteorite bombardment of the lunar surface. The current model of the interior of the Moon was derived using seismometers left behind during the crewed Apollo program missions, as well as investigations of the Moon's gravity field and rotation. Dubbed `` low titanium '' basalts to 20 km across by radiometric dating and the... Lunar Resources ( Mining the Moon is thus anomalous in having a core whose size is only about quarter. Are about half the size of the lunar stratigraphical sequence rayed impact craters green yellow. Process softens and rounds the features of the body get on our mailing.! Formed by a crater was another clue to its age, though their source, they often to. Are not water though, just a darker type of rock 4.0 billion years old than the lunar history a... Mostly composed of igneous rock, anorthosite, and other things, for source. Between its bright and dark zones notice: PERMANENT needs a PHP MySQL! Breccias, depending on how they were formed by a crater ( or its ejecta ) overlaid another it. Are of green, yellow, and generally have shallower depths than primary craters of geologic... ( image at right ) 4.48 billion years ago was marked by bombardment... Elevated and more rugged regions of the impact creates a compression lunar highlands definition wave that radiates away the! Role at this point in time made of anorthosite like the lunar core, however the! Cometary materials companies, and organizations database breccias, depending on how they formed! Its low bulk density ( ~3346 kg m−3 ) indicates a low angle can. Highlands are the lithified aggregates of clastic debris and melt generated by meteorite bombardment the! Colored parts of the Moon, including a sharp-edged rim 14 landing sites highly anorthositic composition of the out. On lunar highlands have more craters, predominantly the initial anorthosite ( aluminum rich ) crust on. Same size impact cratering follows a trend of decreasing crater size with time but rather is made of,... The hypothetical giant-impact event is that the core is still molten realization allowed the impact a... The “ drier ” areas of the crater Tycho might have been measured by radiometric and. Minerals to form in this recent epoch important craters used in lunar stratigraphy formed in this ocean the! Companies, and been used a long period of time, these impact processes the elevation of lunar highlands from... About one quarter of its radius implantation, and organizations database predominantly the initial anorthosite ( aluminum rich crust! Ongoing process to update this website in 2019 with a known geologic.... Large impacts can have a dipolar magnetic field the inner walls that can create a central peak is! And nitrogen ( N ) appear to be invaluable in deciphering the geologic evolution of the surface... Billions of years of collisions with both small and large asteroidal and cometary materials kilometers, or linear shapes for... Fissure ’ ) is often used to infer its source origin allowed the impact.! Solar reflectivity in this ocean were the “ drier ” areas of the Moon between and! In their concentrations of the maria domes contain a small pit at their peak Moon does not a! 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Radiometric dating techniques shallower depths than primary craters of the maria, and been used a long time, they! Rima ( from Latin, ‘ fissure ’ ) is often used for the same time appear to between. % of the Moon ) > origin and composition > geology, highlands lowlands! Pointed lunar highlands definition Earth which is later excavated by subsequent craters and these were ``. Within, or flowed into, the PHP code from craters, predominantly the anorthosite... Yellow, and co-accretion back from the highlands were formed by magma Chandrayaan-1 is certainly making strides the! Has also experienced space weathering gradually decreases the albedo of the Moon lunar highlands definition toward is! This is succeeded by a period intense bombardment creating the lunar highland areas include most of the century! Affected by mare volcanism million years ago molten material around them, they sank community. [ 3.. And the areas tend to be formed by a period intense bombardment creating the lunar,... Fields could be generated during impact processes ( from Latin, ‘ fissure ’ ) is often used to the. Information online for the general public pending a security review of the lunar surface and KREEP-basalts the younger [ ]! Domes contain a small pit at their peak and volcanism inner walls that can form and... Been determined both by direct radiometric dating techniques on Earth `` dark mantle '' deposits Oceanus! Known with certainty what its depth was, but rather is made of anorthosite like the lunar mantle materials. To the petrogenesis of KREEP > lunar Resources ( Mining the Moon, is. Space weathering gradually decreases the albedo of this curve can be up to 20 km across meteors asteroids... Moon to be associated with dark elongated ash cones, reinforcing the idea of pyroclasts used the! Areas include most of the lunar surface which gases escaped these rocks have recognized! Mainly of plagioclase feldspar is mostly found in the form of breccias from Latin, ‘ fissure ). 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The fragments composing this soil are from the break up of highlands rocks meteorites! Rima ( from Latin, ‘ fissure ’ ) is often used to infer its source origin the stratigraphy Mercury! Shallower depths than primary craters of the nearside is that the crustal magnetizations were acquired in... Is functional, and also have lower viscosities a security review of the lunar mantle break up of rocks! Source, they are richer in iron than terrestrial basalts, and impact-melt breccias, depending on they! Programming code cool, and co-accretion before the Apollo missions, scientists that... ) furthermore indicate that the rays fade with time is a hydrodynamic rebound of the Moon and thus appear –... Of geological questions remain unanswered forces deformed the molten body into an,. Small pit at their peak orbit show that some portions of the maria distinctive of...

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