06 October 2017
Volcanic activity gave the early Moon an atmosphere
... of the lunar surface. These patches are large basaltic plains known as maria, and they are similar in composition ... total amount of H2O released during the emplacement of the mare basalts is nearly twice the volume of water in Lake Tahoe. Although...
22 December 2015
First new 'ground truth' in 40 years as Chinese rover Yuto presents analysis of moon rocks
...moon’s make-up, Chang’e-3 touched down on a smooth flood basalt plain, next to the Zi Wei crater, a fresh impact ... magma oceans first solidified. Titanium, like other minerals found in basaltic magma, crystallise as the magma cools and they do so in...
27 September 2021
Early findings from Chang'e 5 samples shows a mix of "exotic" materials
... lava; more than 90 percent of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Mare basalts are thought to have formed in the same way and they can be seen as huge, dark, basaltic plains on the nearside of the Moon. But says Qian, ten...
10 December 2018
First far side of the Moon mission underway
...side that is dominated by huge lunar mares – large, dark basaltic plains, that were initially mistaken for seas by early lunar observers. ... magmas to erupt on the surface, limiting the amount basalts available to create the maria. Why is the farside ...
