Observations of Mare Serenitatis from lunar orbit and their interpretationVisual observations of color differences of Serenitatis mare materials from orbit complement photography and other remotely sensed data. The light tan gray inner fill of the Serenitatis Basin is younger than the dark blue gray annulus; the latter continues into and appears to be contemporaneous with the fill of Mare Tranquillitatis. Mare ridges occur in both the inner basin fill and the dark annulus of Serenitatis. Ridges are interpreted as the result of structural deformation and up-doming after the solidification of the basaltic lavas. On the southeastern rim of the Serenitatis Basin is the darkest blue gray unit within which Apollo 17 landed. Highland massifs surrounding this unit have unstable slopes which are believed to be the result of localized tectonic activity. On the southwest rim of the basin are the dark tan to brown gray mantling materials of the Sulpicius Gallus Formation.
Document ID
19740040065
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
El-Baz, F. (National Air and Space Museum Washington, D.C., United States)
Evans, R. E. (NASA Johnson Space Center Astronaut Office, Houston, Tex., United States)