Remote Sensing and Geologic Studies of Mare Australe: The North Australe Region

A key goal of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission is to investigate volcanic processes at different temporal and physical scales, with one emphasis being the characterization of ancient (meaning, greater than 3.9 Ga) volcanic units. One such ancient volcanic terrain is Mare Australe, a loosely-circular collection of mare basalts centered at approximately 38.9 deg S, 93 deg E (Fig. 1). Mare Australe is a complex, extensive, and poorly understood volcanic region.