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class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Formation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Formation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Geologic_history" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Geologic_history"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Geologic history</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Geologic_history-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Geologic history subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Geologic_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Strata_and_epochs" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Strata_and_epochs"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Strata and epochs</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Strata_and_epochs-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lunar_landscape" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lunar_landscape"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Lunar landscape</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Lunar_landscape-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Lunar landscape subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Lunar_landscape-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Highlands" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Highlands"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Highlands</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Highlands-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Maria" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Maria"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Maria</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Maria-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Rilles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rilles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.1</span> <span>Rilles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rilles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Domes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Domes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.2</span> <span>Domes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Domes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Wrinkle_ridges" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Wrinkle_ridges"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.3</span> <span>Wrinkle ridges</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Wrinkle_ridges-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Grabens" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Grabens"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2.4</span> <span>Grabens</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Grabens-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Impact_craters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Impact_craters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Impact craters</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Impact_craters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Regolith" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Regolith"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>Regolith</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Regolith-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lunar_lava_tubes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lunar_lava_tubes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.5</span> <span>Lunar lava tubes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lunar_lava_tubes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lunar_magma_ocean" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lunar_magma_ocean"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Lunar magma ocean</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lunar_magma_ocean-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lunar_rocks" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lunar_rocks"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Lunar rocks</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Lunar_rocks-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Lunar rocks subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Lunar_rocks-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Surface_materials" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Surface_materials"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Surface materials</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Surface_materials-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Composition_of_the_maria" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Composition_of_the_maria"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2</span> <span>Composition of the maria</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Composition_of_the_maria-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Internal_structure" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Internal_structure"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Internal structure</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Internal_structure-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Internal structure subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Internal_structure-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Magnetic_field" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Magnetic_field"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>Magnetic field</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Magnetic_field-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Moon</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 37 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-37" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">37 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%85%D8%B1" title="جيولوجيا القمر – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="جيولوجيا القمر" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle mw-list-item" title="featured article badge"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeolox%C3%ADa_de_la_Lluna" title="Xeoloxía de la Lluna – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Xeoloxía de la Lluna" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologia_de_la_Lluna" title="Geologia de la Lluna – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Geologia de la Lluna" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cv mw-list-item"><a href="https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%B9%C4%83%D1%85_%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B9%C4%95" title="Уйăх геологийĕ – Chuvash" lang="cv" hreflang="cv" data-title="Уйăх геологийĕ" data-language-autonym="Чӑвашла" data-language-local-name="Chuvash" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Чӑвашла</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologie_M%C4%9Bs%C3%ADce" title="Geologie Měsíce – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Geologie Měsíce" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A5nens_geologi" title="Månens geologi – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Månens geologi" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenologie" title="Selenologie – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Selenologie" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%B5%CF%89%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%A3%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%AE%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82" title="Γεωλογία της Σελήνης – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Γεωλογία της Σελήνης" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolog%C3%ADa_de_la_Luna" title="Geología de la Luna – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Geología de la Luna" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilargiaren_geologia" title="Ilargiaren geologia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Ilargiaren geologia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C" title="ماه‌شناسی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="ماه‌شناسی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9ologie_de_la_Lune" title="Géologie de la Lune – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Géologie de la Lune" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ha mw-list-item"><a href="https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilimin_Kimiyyar_Duniyar_Wata" title="Ilimin Kimiyyar Duniyar Wata – Hausa" lang="ha" hreflang="ha" data-title="Ilimin Kimiyyar Duniyar Wata" data-language-autonym="Hausa" data-language-local-name="Hausa" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hausa</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologi_Bulan" title="Geologi Bulan – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Geologi Bulan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenologia" title="Selenologia – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Selenologia" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%97" title="גאולוגיה של הירח – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="גאולוגיה של הירח" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ky mw-list-item"><a href="https://ky.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Селенология – Kyrgyz" lang="ky" hreflang="ky" data-title="Селенология" data-language-autonym="Кыргызча" data-language-local-name="Kyrgyz" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Кыргызча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenologie" title="Selenologie – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Selenologie" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lëtzebuergesch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hold_geol%C3%B3gi%C3%A1ja" title="A Hold geológiája – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="A Hold geológiája" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Геологија на Месечината – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Геологија на Месечината" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%88%E3%81%AE%E5%9C%B0%E8%B3%AA" title="月の地質 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="月の地質" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A5nens_geologi" title="Månens geologi – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Månens geologi" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenologi" title="Selenologi – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Selenologi" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oy_geologiyasi" title="Oy geologiyasi – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Oy geologiyasi" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF_%D8%B3%D9%BE%D9%88%DA%96%D9%85%DB%8D_%DA%81%D9%85%DA%A9_%D9%BE%DB%90%DA%98%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%87_(%D8%AF_%D8%B3%D9%BE%D9%88%DA%96%D9%85%DB%90_%D8%AF_%DA%81%D9%85%DA%A9%DB%90_%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87)" title="د سپوږمۍ ځمک پېژندنه (د سپوږمې د ځمکې مطالعه) – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="د سپوږمۍ ځمک پېژندنه (د سپوږمې د ځمکې مطالعه)" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پښتو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologia_Ksi%C4%99%C5%BCyca" title="Geologia Księżyca – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Geologia Księżyca" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologia_da_Lua" title="Geologia da Lua – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Geologia da Lua" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologia_Lunii" title="Geologia Lunii – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Geologia Lunii" data-language-autonym="Română" 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style="display:none">Structure and composition of the Moon</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png/300px-The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="140" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png/450px-The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png/600px-The_geologic_map_of_the_Moon_at_1-2.5M_scale.png 2x" data-file-width="14999" data-file-height="6982" /></a><figcaption>Geologic map of the Moon, with general features colored in by age, except in the case of <a href="/wiki/Lunar_maria" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar maria">maria</a> (in blue), <a href="/wiki/KREEP" title="KREEP">KREEP</a> (red) and other special features. Oldest to youngest: <a href="/wiki/Pre-Nectarian" title="Pre-Nectarian">Aitkenian</a> (pink), <a href="/wiki/Nectarian" title="Nectarian">Nectarian</a> (brown), <a href="/wiki/Imbrian" title="Imbrian">Imbrian</a> (greens/turquoise), <a href="/wiki/Eratosthenian" title="Eratosthenian">Eratosthenian</a> (light orange) and <a href="/wiki/Copernican_period" title="Copernican period">Copernican</a> (yellow).</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b>geology of the Moon</b> (sometimes called <b>selenology</b>, although the latter term can refer more generally to "<a href="/wiki/Lunar_science" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar science">lunar science</a>") is quite different from that of <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a>. The Moon <a href="/wiki/Atmosphere_of_the_Moon" title="Atmosphere of the Moon">lacks a true atmosphere</a>, and the absence of <a href="/wiki/Free_oxygen" class="mw-redirect" title="Free oxygen">free oxygen</a> and water eliminates <a href="/wiki/Erosion" title="Erosion">erosion</a> due to <a href="/wiki/Weather" title="Weather">weather</a>. Instead, the surface is eroded much more slowly through the bombardment of the lunar surface by <a href="/wiki/Micrometeorites" class="mw-redirect" title="Micrometeorites">micrometeorites</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It does not have any known form of <a href="/wiki/Plate_tectonics" title="Plate tectonics">plate tectonics</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199491_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199491-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> it has a lower <a href="/wiki/Gravity" title="Gravity">gravity</a>, and because of its small size, it cooled faster.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199493_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199493-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In addition to impacts, the <a href="/wiki/Geomorphology" title="Geomorphology">geomorphology</a> of the lunar surface has been shaped by <a href="/wiki/Volcanism" title="Volcanism">volcanism</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199413_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199413-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which is now thought to have ended less than 50 million years ago.<sup id="cite_ref-Imster2014_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Imster2014-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Moon is a <a href="/wiki/Planetary_differentiation" title="Planetary differentiation"> differentiated</a> body, with a <a href="/wiki/Crust_(geology)" title="Crust (geology)">crust</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mantle_(geology)" title="Mantle (geology)">mantle</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Planetary_core" title="Planetary core">core</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199410_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199410-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="notpageimage" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><span><video id="mwe_player_0" poster="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/300px--NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.jpg" controls="" preload="none" data-mw-tmh="" class="mw-file-element" width="300" height="169" data-durationhint="130" data-mwtitle="NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv" data-mwprovider="wikimediacommons" resource="/wiki/File:NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.480p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="480p.vp9.webm" data-width="854" data-height="480" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.720p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="720p.vp9.webm" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv" type="video/ogg; codecs="theora, vorbis"" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.144p.mjpeg.mov" type="video/quicktime" data-transcodekey="144p.mjpeg.mov" data-width="256" data-height="144" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.240p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="240p.vp9.webm" data-width="426" data-height="240" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.360p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="360p.vp9.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv/NASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv.360p.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp8, vorbis"" data-transcodekey="360p.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /><track src="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?action=timedtext&title=File%3ANASA_Spacecraft_Reveals_Recent_Geological_Activity_on_the_Moon.ogv&lang=en&trackformat=vtt&origin=%2A" kind="subtitles" type="text/vtt" srclang="en" label="English ‪(en)‬" data-dir="ltr" /></video></span><figcaption>Smithsonian Institution Senior Scientist Tom Watters talks about the Moon's recent geological activity.</figcaption></figure> <div style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1.4em"> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg/220px-Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="246" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg/330px-Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg/440px-Moon_Crescent_-_False_Color_Mosaic.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2600" data-file-height="2910" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/False-color" class="mw-redirect" title="False-color">False-color</a> image of the Moon taken by the <a href="/wiki/Galileo_(spacecraft)" title="Galileo (spacecraft)"><i>Galileo</i> orbiter</a> showing geological features. <i><a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> photo</i></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Earth%27s_Moon.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Earth%27s_Moon.jpg/220px-Earth%27s_Moon.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Earth%27s_Moon.jpg/330px-Earth%27s_Moon.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Earth%27s_Moon.jpg/440px-Earth%27s_Moon.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3053" data-file-height="3053" /></a><figcaption>The same image using different color filters</figcaption></figure> </div> <p><a href="/wiki/Geology" title="Geology">Geological</a> studies of the Moon are based on a combination of Earth-based <a href="/wiki/Telescope" title="Telescope">telescope</a> observations, measurements from <a href="/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon" title="Exploration of the Moon">orbiting spacecraft</a>, <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">lunar samples</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Geophysical" class="mw-redirect" title="Geophysical">geophysical</a> data. Six locations were sampled directly during the crewed <a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo program</a> landings from 1969 to 1972, which returned 382 kilograms (842 lb) of <a href="/wiki/Lunar_rock" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar rock">lunar rock</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lunar_soil" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar soil">lunar soil</a> to Earth<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In addition, three robotic <a href="/wiki/Soviet_space_program" title="Soviet space program">Soviet</a> <a href="/wiki/Luna_programme" title="Luna programme">Luna spacecraft</a> returned another 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples,<sup id="cite_ref-Luna_16_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Luna_16-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Luna_20_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Luna_20-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Luna_24_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Luna_24-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the Chinese robotic <a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_5" title="Chang'e 5">Chang'e 5</a> returned a sample of 1,731 g (61.1 oz) in 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-xinhuanet_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-xinhuanet-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Moon is the only extraterrestrial body for which we have samples with a known geologic context. A handful of <a href="/wiki/Lunar_meteorite" title="Lunar meteorite">lunar meteorites</a> have been recognized on Earth, though their source <a href="/wiki/List_of_craters_on_the_Moon" title="List of craters on the Moon">craters</a> on the Moon are unknown. A substantial portion of the lunar surface has not been explored, and a number of geological questions remain unanswered. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Elemental_composition">Elemental composition</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Elemental composition"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Elements known to be present on the lunar surface include, among others, <a href="/wiki/Oxygen" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> (O), <a href="/wiki/Silicon" title="Silicon">silicon</a> (Si), <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">iron</a> (Fe), <a href="/wiki/Magnesium" title="Magnesium">magnesium</a> (Mg), <a href="/wiki/Calcium" title="Calcium">calcium</a> (Ca), <a href="/wiki/Aluminium" title="Aluminium">aluminium</a> (Al), <a href="/wiki/Manganese" title="Manganese">manganese</a> (Mn) and <a href="/wiki/Titanium" title="Titanium">titanium</a> (Ti). Among the more abundant are oxygen, iron and silicon. The oxygen content is estimated at 45% (by weight). <a href="/wiki/Carbon" title="Carbon">Carbon</a> (C) and <a href="/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> (N) appear to be present only in trace quantities from deposition by <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable floatleft" style="text-align:center;"> <caption>Lunar surface chemical composition<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="2" valign="top">Compound</th> <th rowspan="2" valign="top">Formula</th> <th colspan="2">Composition </th></tr> <tr> <th style="font-size:smaller">Maria</th> <th style="font-size:smaller">Highlands </th></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Silicon_dioxide" title="Silicon dioxide">silica</a></td> <td>SiO<sub>2</sub></td> <td>45.4%</td> <td>45.5% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Aluminium_oxide" title="Aluminium oxide">alumina</a></td> <td>Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub></td> <td>14.9%</td> <td>24.0% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Calcium_oxide" title="Calcium oxide">lime</a></td> <td>CaO</td> <td>11.8%</td> <td>15.9% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Iron(II)_oxide" title="Iron(II) oxide">iron(II) oxide</a></td> <td>FeO</td> <td>14.1%</td> <td>5.9% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Magnesium_oxide" title="Magnesium oxide">magnesia</a></td> <td>MgO</td> <td>9.2%</td> <td>7.5% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Titanium_dioxide" title="Titanium dioxide">titanium dioxide</a></td> <td>TiO<sub>2</sub></td> <td>3.9%</td> <td>0.6% </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left"><a href="/wiki/Sodium_oxide" title="Sodium oxide">sodium oxide</a></td> <td>Na<sub>2</sub>O</td> <td>0.6%</td> <td>0.6% </td></tr> <tr> <th colspan="2"> </th> <th>99.9%</th> <th>100.0% </th></tr></tbody></table> <table align="center"> <caption><b><a href="/wiki/Neutron_spectrometry" class="mw-redirect" title="Neutron spectrometry">Neutron spectrometry</a> data from <i><a href="/wiki/Lunar_Prospector" title="Lunar Prospector">Lunar Prospector</a></i> indicate the presence of <a href="/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> (H) concentrated at the <a href="/wiki/Poles_of_astronomical_bodies" title="Poles of astronomical bodies">poles</a>.</b><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </caption> <tbody><tr> <td><figure class="mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg/210px-Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg.png" decoding="async" width="210" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg/315px-Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg/420px-Composition_of_lunar_soil.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="702" data-file-height="570" /></a><figcaption>Relative concentration of various elements on the lunar surface (in weight %)</figcaption></figure> </td> <td><div class="thumb tnone"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 267px;"> <div class="thumbimage" style="width: 265px; height: 170px; overflow: hidden;"> <div style="position: relative; top: -22px; left: -17px; width: 295px"><div class="noresize"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Relative concentration (in weight %) of various elements on lunar highlands, lunar lowlands, and Earth" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg/295px-Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg.png" decoding="async" width="295" height="236" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg/443px-Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg/590px-Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="480" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Moon_vs_earth_composition.svg" title="File:Moon vs earth composition.svg"> </a></div>Relative concentration (in weight %) of various elements on lunar highlands, lunar lowlands, and Earth </div> </div> </div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Formation">Formation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Formation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Origin_of_the_Moon" title="Origin of the Moon">Origin of the Moon</a></div> <p>For a long period of time, the fundamental question regarding the history of the Moon was of <a href="/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System" title="Formation and evolution of the Solar System">its origin</a>. Early hypotheses included <i>fission</i> from Earth, <i>capture</i>, and <i>co-accretion</i>. Today, the <a href="/wiki/Giant-impact_hypothesis" title="Giant-impact hypothesis">giant-impact hypothesis</a> is widely accepted by the scientific community.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Geologic_history">Geologic history</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Geologic history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><span><video id="mwe_player_1" poster="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv/220px--Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv.jpg" controls="" preload="none" data-mw-tmh="" class="mw-file-element" width="220" height="124" data-durationhint="121" data-mwtitle="Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv" data-mwprovider="wikimediacommons" resource="/wiki/File:Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv" type="video/ogg; codecs="theora, vorbis"" data-width="512" data-height="288" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/80/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv.360p.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp8, vorbis"" data-transcodekey="360p.webm" data-width="512" data-height="288" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/80/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv.144p.mjpeg.mov" type="video/quicktime" data-transcodekey="144p.mjpeg.mov" data-width="256" data-height="144" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/80/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv/Hints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv.240p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="240p.vp9.webm" data-width="426" data-height="240" /><track src="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?action=timedtext&title=File%3AHints_of_a_Shrinking_Moon.ogv&lang=en&trackformat=vtt&origin=%2A" kind="subtitles" type="text/vtt" srclang="en" label="English ‪(en)‬" data-dir="ltr" /></video></span><figcaption>Cliffs in the lunar crust indicate the Moon shrank globally in the geologically recent past and is still shrinking today.</figcaption></figure> <p>The geological history of the Moon has been defined into six major epochs, called the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_geologic_timescale" title="Lunar geologic timescale">lunar geologic timescale</a>. Starting about 4.5 billion years ago,<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the newly formed Moon was in a <a href="/wiki/Molten" class="mw-redirect" title="Molten">molten</a> state and was orbiting much closer to Earth resulting in <a href="/wiki/Tidal_force" title="Tidal force">tidal forces</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-AncientLunarDynamo_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AncientLunarDynamo-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These tidal forces deformed the molten body into an <a href="/wiki/Ellipsoid" title="Ellipsoid">ellipsoid</a>, with the major axis pointed towards Earth. </p><p>The first important event in the geologic evolution of the Moon was the <a href="/wiki/Crystallization" title="Crystallization">crystallization</a> of the near global magma ocean. It is not known with certainty what its depth was, but several studies imply a depth of about 500 km or greater. The first minerals to form in this ocean were the iron and magnesium <a href="/wiki/Silicate" title="Silicate">silicates</a> <a href="/wiki/Olivine" title="Olivine">olivine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pyroxene" title="Pyroxene">pyroxene</a>. Because these minerals were denser than the molten material around them, they sank. After crystallization was about 75% complete, less dense <a href="/wiki/Anorthosite" title="Anorthosite">anorthositic</a> <a href="/wiki/Plagioclase" title="Plagioclase">plagioclase</a> <a href="/wiki/Feldspar" title="Feldspar">feldspar</a> crystallized and floated, forming an anorthositic crust about 50 km in thickness. The majority of the magma ocean crystallized quickly (within about 100 million years or less), though the final remaining <a href="/wiki/KREEP" title="KREEP">KREEP</a>-rich magmas, which are highly enriched in incompatible and heat-producing elements, could have remained partially molten for several hundred million (or perhaps 1 billion) years. It appears that the final KREEP-rich magmas of the magma ocean eventually became concentrated within the region of <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Mare_Imbrium" title="Mare Imbrium">Imbrium basin</a>, a unique geologic province that is now known as the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_terranes" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar terranes">Procellarum KREEP Terrane</a>. </p><p>Quickly after the lunar crust formed, or even as it was forming, different types of magmas that would give rise to the <a href="/wiki/Magnesium" title="Magnesium">Mg</a>-<a href="/wiki/Suite_(geology)" title="Suite (geology)">suite</a> <a href="/wiki/Norite" title="Norite">norites</a> and <a href="/wiki/Troctolite" title="Troctolite">troctolites</a><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> began to form, although the exact depths at which this occurred are not known precisely. Recent theories suggest that Mg-suite <a href="/wiki/Plutonism" title="Plutonism">plutonism</a> was largely confined to the region of the Procellarum KREEP Terrane, and that these magmas are genetically related to KREEP in some manner, though their origin is still highly debated in the scientific community. The oldest of the Mg-suite rocks have crystallization ages of about 3.85 <a href="/wiki/Giga-annum" class="mw-redirect" title="Giga-annum">Ga</a>. However, the last large impact that could have been excavated deep into the crust (the <a href="/wiki/Mare_Imbrium" title="Mare Imbrium">Imbrium basin</a>) also occurred at 3.85 Ga before present. Thus, it seems probable that Mg-suite plutonic activity continued for a much longer time, and that younger plutonic rocks exist deep below the surface. </p><p>Analysis of the samples from the Moon seems to show that a lot of the Moon's impact basins formed in a short amount of time between about 4 and 3.85 Ga ago. This hypothesis is referred to as the lunar cataclysm or <a href="/wiki/Late_heavy_bombardment" class="mw-redirect" title="Late heavy bombardment">late heavy bombardment</a>. 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. It is thus possible that ages for some impact basins (in particular <a href="/wiki/Mare_Nectaris" title="Mare Nectaris">Mare Nectaris</a>) could have been mistakenly assigned the same age as Imbrium. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">lunar maria</a> represent ancient flood basaltic eruptions. In comparison to terrestrial lavas, these contain higher iron abundances, have low viscosities, and some contain highly elevated abundances of the <a href="/wiki/Titanium" title="Titanium">titanium</a>-rich mineral <a href="/wiki/Ilmenite" title="Ilmenite">ilmenite</a>. The majority of <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a> eruptions occurred between about 3 and 3.5 Ga ago, though some mare samples have ages as old as 4.2 Ga. The youngest (based on the method of crater counting) was long thought to date to 1 billion years ago,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199413_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199413-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but research in the 2010s has found evidence of eruptions from less than 50 million years in the past.<sup id="cite_ref-Imster2014_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Imster2014-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Along with mare volcanism came <a href="/wiki/Pyroclastic_rock" title="Pyroclastic rock">pyroclastic eruptions</a>, which launched molten basaltic materials hundreds of kilometers away from the <a href="/wiki/Volcano" title="Volcano">volcano</a>. A large portion of the mare formed, or flowed into, the low elevations associated with the nearside impact basins. However, <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a> does not correspond to any known impact structure, and the lowest elevations of the Moon within the farside <a href="/wiki/South_Pole-Aitken_basin" class="mw-redirect" title="South Pole-Aitken basin">South Pole-Aitken basin</a> are only modestly covered by mare (see <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">lunar mare</a> for a more detailed discussion). </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237032888/mw-parser-output/.tmulti">.mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner{display:flex;flex-direction:column}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{display:flex;flex-direction:row;clear:left;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{margin:1px;float:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader{clear:both;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;align-self:center;background-color:transparent;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center{text-align:center}@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:none!important;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{justify-content:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{float:none!important;max-width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle .thumbcaption{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow>.thumbcaption{text-align:center}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner img{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner img{background-color:white}}</style><div class="thumb tmulti tnone center"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:591px;max-width:591px"><div class="trow"><div class="theader">Moon – <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a> ("Ocean of Storms")</div></div><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:291px;max-width:291px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:107px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/289px-14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg" decoding="async" width="289" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/434px-14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/578px-14-236-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg 2x" data-file-width="614" data-file-height="228" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Ancient <a href="/wiki/Rift_valley" title="Rift valley">rift valleys</a> – rectangular structure (visible – topography – <a href="/wiki/Gravity_Recovery_and_Interior_Laboratory" class="mw-redirect" title="Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory">GRAIL gravity gradients</a>) (October 1, 2014)</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:109px;max-width:109px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:107px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/107px-PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg" decoding="async" width="107" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/161px-PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg/214px-PIA18822-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Overall-20141001.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1500" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Ancient <a href="/wiki/Rift_valley" title="Rift valley">rift valleys</a> – context</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:185px;max-width:185px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:107px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg/183px-PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg" decoding="async" width="183" height="107" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg/275px-PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg/366px-PIA18821-LunarGrailMission-OceanusProcellarum-Rifts-Closeup-20141001.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1546" data-file-height="905" /></a></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Ancient <a href="/wiki/Rift_valley" title="Rift valley">rift valleys</a> – closeup (artist's concept)</div></div></div></div></div> <p>Impacts by <a href="/wiki/Meteorite" title="Meteorite">meteorites</a> and <a href="/wiki/Comet" title="Comet">comets</a> are the only abrupt geologic force acting on the Moon today, though the variation of Earth tides on the scale of the Lunar <a href="/wiki/Anomalistic_month" class="mw-redirect" title="Anomalistic month">anomalistic month</a> causes small variations in stresses.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some of the most important <a href="/wiki/Impact_crater" title="Impact crater">craters</a> used in lunar stratigraphy formed in this recent epoch. For example, the crater <a href="/wiki/Copernicus_(lunar_crater)" title="Copernicus (lunar crater)">Copernicus</a>, 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). The <a href="/wiki/Apollo_17" title="Apollo 17">Apollo 17</a> mission landed in an area in which the material coming from the crater <a href="/wiki/Tycho_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tycho (crater)">Tycho</a> might have been sampled. The study of these rocks seem to indicate that this crater could have formed 100 million years ago, though this is debatable as well. The surface has also experienced <a href="/wiki/Space_weathering" title="Space weathering">space weathering</a> due to high energy particles, <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a> implantation, and <a href="/wiki/Micrometeorite" title="Micrometeorite">micrometeorite</a> impacts. This process causes the <a href="/wiki/Ray_system" title="Ray system">ray systems</a> associated with young craters to darken until it matches the albedo of the surrounding surface. However, if the composition of the ray is different from the underlying crustal materials (as might occur when a "highland" ray is emplaced on the mare), the ray could be visible for much longer times. </p><p>After resumption of Lunar exploration in the 1990s, it was discovered there are scarps across the globe that are caused by the <a href="/wiki/Geophysical_global_cooling" title="Geophysical global cooling">contraction due to cooling</a> of the Moon.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Strata_and_epochs">Strata and epochs</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Strata and epochs"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Geology_of_the_Moon" title="Special:EditPage/Geology of the Moon">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">August 2011</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lunar_geologic_timescale" title="Lunar geologic timescale">Lunar geologic timescale</a></div> <p>At the top of the Moon’s stratigraphy is the Copernican unit consisting of craters with a ray system.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Below this is the Eratosthenian unit, defined by craters with established impact crater morphology, but lacking the ray system of the Copernican. These two units are present in smaller spots on the lunar surface. Further down the stratigraphy are the Mare units (previously known as the Procellarian unit), and the Imbrian unit which is related to ejecta and tectonics from the Imbrium basin. The bottom of the lunar stratigraphy is the pre-Nectarian unit, which consists of old crater plains.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Lunar_landscape">Lunar landscape</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Lunar landscape"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Topography_of_the_Moon" class="mw-redirect" title="Topography of the Moon">Topography of the Moon</a></div> <p>The lunar landscape is characterized by <a href="/wiki/Impact_crater" title="Impact crater">impact craters</a>, their ejecta, a few <a href="/wiki/Volcano" title="Volcano">volcanoes</a>, hills, <a href="/wiki/Lava_flow" class="mw-redirect" title="Lava flow">lava flows</a> and depressions filled by lava. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Highlands">Highlands</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Highlands"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The most distinctive aspect of the Moon is the contrast between its bright and dark zones. Lighter surfaces are the lunar highlands, which receive the name of <i>terrae</i> (singular <i>terra</i>, from the <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> for <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">earth</a>, <a href="/wiki/Land" title="Land">land</a>), and the darker plains are called <i>maria</i> (singular <i>mare</i>, from the Latin for <a href="/wiki/Sea" title="Sea">sea</a>), after <a href="/wiki/Johannes_Kepler" title="Johannes Kepler">Johannes Kepler</a> who introduced the names in the 17th century. The highlands are <a href="/wiki/Anorthosite" title="Anorthosite">anorthositic</a> in composition, whereas the maria are <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a>. The maria often coincide with the "lowlands," but the lowlands (such as within the <a href="/wiki/South_Pole-Aitken_basin" class="mw-redirect" title="South Pole-Aitken basin">South Pole-Aitken basin</a>) are not always covered by maria. The highlands are older than the visible maria, and hence are more heavily cratered. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Maria">Maria</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Maria"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">Lunar mare</a></div> <p>The major products of <a href="/wiki/Volcanism_on_the_Moon" title="Volcanism on the Moon">volcanic processes on the Moon</a> are evident to Earth-bound observers in the form of the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">lunar maria</a>. These are large flows of <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a> <a href="/wiki/Lava" title="Lava">lava</a> that correspond to low-<a href="/wiki/Albedo" title="Albedo">albedo</a> surfaces covering nearly a third of the near side. Only a few percent of the farside has been affected by mare volcanism. Even before the Apollo missions confirmed it, most scientists already thought that the maria are lava-filled plains, because they have <a href="/wiki/Lava_flow" class="mw-redirect" title="Lava flow">lava flow</a> patterns and collapses attributed to <a href="/wiki/Lava_tube" title="Lava tube">lava tubes</a>. </p><p>The ages of the mare basalts have been determined both by direct <a href="/wiki/Radiometric_dating" title="Radiometric dating">radiometric dating</a> and by the technique of <a href="/wiki/Crater_counting" title="Crater counting">crater counting</a>. The oldest radiometric ages are about 4.2 Ga (billion years), and ages of most of the youngest maria lavas have been determined from crater counting to be about 1 Ga. Due to better resolution of more recent imagery, about 70 small areas called <i>irregular mare patches</i> (each area only a few hundred meters or a few kilometers across) have been found in the maria that crater counting suggests were sites of volcanic activity in the geologically much more recent past (less than 50 million years).<sup id="cite_ref-Imster2014_6-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Imster2014-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Volumetrically, most of the mare formed between about 3 and 3.5 Ga before present. The youngest lavas erupted within <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a>, whereas some of the oldest appear to be located on the farside. The maria are clearly younger than the surrounding highlands given their lower density of impact craters. </p> <table style="float:right;"> <tbody><tr> <td><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg/220px-14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg/330px-14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg/440px-14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1082" data-file-height="1082" /></a><figcaption>Moon – Evidence of young lunar volcanism (October 12, 2014)</figcaption></figure> </td></tr> <tr> <td><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg/220px-Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="215" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg/330px-Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg/440px-Prinz_crater_Apollo_15.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1215" data-file-height="1185" /></a><figcaption>Volcanic rilles near the crater <a href="/wiki/Prinz_(crater)" title="Prinz (crater)">Prinz</a></figcaption></figure> </td></tr> <tr> <td><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg/220px-Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="223" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg/330px-Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg/440px-Mons_R%C3%BCmker_Apollo_15.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2373" data-file-height="2406" /></a><figcaption>Volcanic domes within the <a href="/wiki/Mons_R%C3%BCmker" title="Mons Rümker">Mons Rümker</a> complex</figcaption></figure> </td></tr> <tr> <td><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:AS16-M-2995.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/AS16-M-2995.jpg/220px-AS16-M-2995.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/AS16-M-2995.jpg/330px-AS16-M-2995.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/AS16-M-2995.jpg/440px-AS16-M-2995.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1012" data-file-height="1012" /></a><figcaption>Wrinkle ridges within the crater <a href="/wiki/Letronne_(crater)" title="Letronne (crater)">Letronne</a></figcaption></figure> </td></tr> <tr> <td><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg/220px-Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg/330px-Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg/440px-Rima_Ariadaeus-1.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4128" data-file-height="4128" /></a><figcaption><i><a href="/wiki/Rima_Ariadaeus" title="Rima Ariadaeus">Rima Ariadaeus</a></i> is a <a href="/wiki/Graben" title="Graben">graben</a>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> photo taken during <a href="/wiki/Apollo_10" title="Apollo 10">Apollo 10</a> mission.</figcaption></figure> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>A large portion of maria erupted within, or flowed into, the low-lying impact basins on the lunar nearside. 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. Furthermore, <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a>, which is the largest expanse of mare volcanism on the Moon, does not correspond to any known impact basin. It is commonly suggested that the reason the mare only erupted on the nearside is that the nearside crust is thinner than the farside. 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 <a href="/wiki/South_Pole-Aitken_basin" class="mw-redirect" title="South Pole-Aitken basin">South Pole-Aitken basin</a>, whose crust is thinner than Oceanus Procellarum, was only modestly filled by volcanic products. </p><p>Another type of deposit associated with the maria, although it also covers the highland areas, are the "dark mantle" deposits. These deposits cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they can be seen in images taken from telescopes or orbiting spacecraft. Before the Apollo missions, scientists predicted that they were deposits produced by <a href="/wiki/Pyroclastic_rock" title="Pyroclastic rock">pyroclastic</a> eruptions. Some deposits appear to be associated with dark elongated <a href="/wiki/Ash_cone" class="mw-redirect" title="Ash cone">ash cones</a>, reinforcing the idea of pyroclasts. The existence of pyroclastic eruptions was later confirmed by the discovery of glass spherules similar to those found in pyroclastic eruptions here on Earth. </p><p>Many of the lunar basalts contain small holes called <a href="/wiki/Vesicular_texture" title="Vesicular texture">vesicles</a>, which were formed by gas bubbles exsolving from the magma at the vacuum conditions encountered at the surface. It is not known with certainty which gases escaped these rocks, but <a href="/wiki/Carbon_monoxide" title="Carbon monoxide">carbon monoxide</a> is one candidate. </p><p>The samples of <a href="/wiki/Pyroclastic_rock" title="Pyroclastic rock">pyroclastic</a> glasses are of green, yellow, and red tints. 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). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Rilles">Rilles</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Rilles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Rille" title="Rille">Rilles</a> on the Moon sometimes resulted from the formation of localized <a href="/wiki/Lava_channel" title="Lava channel">lava channels</a>. These generally fall into three categories, consisting of sinuous, arcuate, or linear shapes. By following these meandering rilles back to their source, they often lead to an old volcanic vent. One of the most notable sinuous rilles is the <a href="/wiki/Vallis_Schr%C3%B6teri" class="mw-redirect" title="Vallis Schröteri">Vallis Schröteri</a> feature, located in the Aristarchus plateau along the eastern edge of <a href="/wiki/Oceanus_Procellarum" title="Oceanus Procellarum">Oceanus Procellarum</a>. An example of a sinuous rille exists at the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_15" title="Apollo 15">Apollo 15</a> landing site, <a href="/wiki/Rima_Hadley" class="mw-redirect" title="Rima Hadley">Rima Hadley</a>, located on the rim of the <a href="/wiki/Imbrium_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Imbrium Basin">Imbrium Basin</a>. 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. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Domes">Domes</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Domes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A variety of <a href="/wiki/Shield_volcano" title="Shield volcano">shield volcanoes</a> can be found in selected locations on the lunar surface, such as on <a href="/wiki/Mons_R%C3%BCmker" title="Mons Rümker">Mons Rümker</a>. These are thought to be formed by relatively viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents. The resulting <a href="/wiki/Lunar_dome" title="Lunar dome">lunar domes</a> are wide, rounded, circular features with a gentle slope rising in elevation a few hundred meters to the midpoint. They are typically 8–12 km in diameter, but can be up to 20 km across. Some of the domes contain a small pit at their peak. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Wrinkle_ridges">Wrinkle ridges</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Wrinkle ridges"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Wrinkle_ridge" title="Wrinkle ridge">Wrinkle ridges</a> are features created by compressive tectonic forces within the maria. These features represent buckling of the surface and form long ridges across parts of the maria. Some of these ridges may outline buried craters or other features beneath the maria. A prime example of such an outlined feature is the crater <a href="/wiki/Letronne_(crater)" title="Letronne (crater)">Letronne</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Grabens">Grabens</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Grabens"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Graben" title="Graben">Grabens</a> are <a href="/wiki/Tectonic" class="mw-redirect" title="Tectonic">tectonic</a> features that form under extensional stresses. Structurally, they are composed of two <a href="/wiki/Normal_fault" class="mw-redirect" title="Normal fault">normal faults</a>, with a down-dropped block between them. Most grabens are found within the lunar maria near the edges of large impact basins. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Impact_craters">Impact craters</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Impact craters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg/220px-Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="197" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg/330px-Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg/440px-Mare_Imbrium-AS17-M-2444.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1082" data-file-height="971" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Mare_Imbrium" title="Mare Imbrium">Mare Imbrium</a> and the crater <a href="/wiki/Copernicus_(lunar_crater)" title="Copernicus (lunar crater)">Copernicus</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The origin of the Moon's craters as impact features became widely accepted only in the 1960s. This realization allowed the impact history of the Moon to be gradually worked out by means of the geologic principle of <a href="/wiki/Law_of_superposition" title="Law of superposition">superposition</a>. That is, if a crater (or its ejecta) overlaid another, it must be the younger. The amount of erosion experienced by a crater was another clue to its age, though this is more subjective. Adopting this approach in the late 1950s, <a href="/wiki/Eugene_Merle_Shoemaker" title="Eugene Merle Shoemaker">Gene Shoemaker</a> took the systematic study of the Moon away from the astronomers and placed it firmly in the hands of the lunar geologists.<sup id="cite_ref-Levy_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Levy-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Impact_crater" title="Impact crater">Impact cratering</a> is the most notable geological process on the Moon. The craters are formed when a solid body, such as an <a href="/wiki/Asteroid" title="Asteroid">asteroid</a> or <a href="/wiki/Comet" title="Comet">comet</a>, collides with the surface at a high velocity (mean impact velocities for the Moon are about 17 km per second). The kinetic energy of the impact creates a compression shock wave that radiates away from the point of entry. This is succeeded by a <a href="/wiki/Rarefaction" title="Rarefaction">rarefaction</a> wave, which is responsible for propelling most of the ejecta out of the crater. Finally there is a hydrodynamic rebound of the floor that can create a central peak. </p><p>These craters appear in a continuum of diameters across the surface of the Moon, ranging in size from tiny pits to the immense <a href="/wiki/South_Pole%E2%80%93Aitken_basin" title="South Pole–Aitken basin">South Pole–Aitken basin</a> with a diameter of nearly 2,500 km and a depth of 13 km. In a very general sense, the lunar history of impact cratering follows a trend of decreasing crater size with time. In particular, the largest impact basins were formed during the early periods, and these were successively overlaid by smaller craters. The <a href="/wiki/Size_frequency_distribution" class="mw-redirect" title="Size frequency distribution">size frequency distribution</a> (SFD) of crater diameters on a given surface (that is, the number of craters as a function of diameter) approximately follows a <a href="/wiki/Power_law" title="Power law">power law</a> with increasing number of craters with decreasing crater size. The vertical position of this curve can be used to estimate the age of the surface. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:AS16-M-1580.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/AS16-M-1580.gif/220px-AS16-M-1580.gif" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/AS16-M-1580.gif/330px-AS16-M-1580.gif 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/AS16-M-1580.gif/440px-AS16-M-1580.gif 2x" data-file-width="1012" data-file-height="1012" /></a><figcaption>The lunar crater <a href="/wiki/King_(crater)" title="King (crater)">King</a> displays the characteristic features of a large impact formation, with a raised rim, slumped edges, terraced inner walls, a relatively flat floor with some hills, and a central ridge. The Y-shaped central ridge is unusually complex in form.</figcaption></figure> <p>The most recent impacts are distinguished by well-defined features, including a sharp-edged rim. Small craters tend to form a bowl shape, whereas larger impacts can have a central peak with flat floors. Larger craters generally display slumping features along the inner walls that can form <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terrace" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:terrace">terraces</a> and ledges. The largest impact basins, the multiring basins, can even have secondary concentric rings of raised material. </p><p>The impact process excavates high <a href="/wiki/Albedo" title="Albedo">albedo</a> materials that initially gives the crater, ejecta, and <a href="/wiki/Ray_system" title="Ray system">ray system</a> a bright appearance. The process of <a href="/wiki/Space_weathering" title="Space weathering">space weathering</a> gradually decreases the albedo of this material such that the rays fade with time. Gradually the crater and its ejecta undergo impact erosion from micrometeorites and smaller impacts. This erosional process softens and rounds the features of the crater. The crater can also be covered in ejecta from other impacts, which can submerge features and even bury the central peak. </p><p>The ejecta from large impacts can include large blocks of material that reimpact the surface to form secondary impact craters. These craters are sometimes formed in clearly discernible radial patterns, and generally have shallower depths than primary craters of the same size. In some cases an entire line of these blocks can impact to form a valley. These are distinguished from <i>catena</i>, or crater chains, which are linear strings of craters that are formed when the impact body breaks up prior to impact. </p><p>Generally speaking, a lunar crater is roughly circular in form. Laboratory experiments at NASA's <a href="/wiki/Ames_Research_Center" title="Ames Research Center">Ames Research Center</a> 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. However, a low angle impact can produce a central peak that is offset from the midpoint of the crater. 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˚.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>Dark-halo craters</i> are formed when an impact excavates lower albedo material from beneath the surface, then deposits this darker ejecta around the main crater. This can occur when an area of darker <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a> material, such as that found on the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">maria</a>, is later covered by lighter ejecta derived from more distant impacts in the highlands. This covering conceals the darker material below, which is later excavated by subsequent craters. </p><p>The largest impacts produced melt sheets of molten rock that covered portions of the surface that could be as thick as a kilometer. Examples of such impact melt can be seen in the northeastern part of the <a href="/wiki/Mare_Orientale" title="Mare Orientale">Mare Orientale</a> impact basin. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Regolith">Regolith</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Regolith"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lunar_soil" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar soil">Lunar soil</a></div> <p>The surface of the Moon has been subject to billions of years of collisions with both <a href="/wiki/Micrometeorite" title="Micrometeorite">small</a> and large <a href="/wiki/Asteroid" title="Asteroid">asteroidal</a> and <a href="/wiki/Comet" title="Comet">cometary</a> materials. Over time, these impact processes have pulverized and "gardened" the surface materials, forming a fine-grained layer termed <i><a href="/wiki/Regolith" title="Regolith">regolith</a></i>. The thickness of the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_soil" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar soil">lunar regolith</a> 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. The regolith is predominantly composed of materials found in the region, but also contains traces of materials ejected by distant impact craters. The term <i>mega-regolith</i> is often used to describe the heavily fractured bedrock directly beneath the near-surface regolith layer. </p><p>The regolith contains rocks, fragments of minerals from the original bedrock, and glassy particles formed during the impacts. 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. The chemical composition of the regolith varies according to its location; the regolith in the highlands is rich in <a href="/wiki/Aluminium" title="Aluminium">aluminium</a> and <a href="/wiki/Silica" class="mw-redirect" title="Silica">silica</a>, just as the rocks in those regions.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The regolith in the maria is rich in <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">iron</a> and magnesium and is silica-poor, as are the <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a> rocks from which it is formed. </p><p>The lunar regolith is very important because it also stores information about the history of the <a href="/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">Sun</a>. The atoms that compose the <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a> – mostly <a href="/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a>, <a href="/wiki/Helium" title="Helium">helium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Neon" title="Neon">neon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Carbon" title="Carbon">carbon</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> – hit the lunar surface and insert themselves into the mineral grains. Upon analyzing the composition of the regolith, particularly its <a href="/wiki/Isotope" title="Isotope">isotopic</a> composition, it is possible to determine if the activity of the Sun has changed with time. The gases of the solar wind could be useful for future lunar bases, because oxygen, <a href="/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> (<a href="/wiki/Water" title="Water">water</a>), <a href="/wiki/Carbon" title="Carbon">carbon</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> are not only essential to sustain life, but are also potentially very useful in the production of <a href="/wiki/Fuel" title="Fuel">fuel</a>. The composition of the lunar regolith can also be used to infer its source origin. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Lunar_lava_tubes">Lunar lava tubes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Lunar lava tubes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube" title="Lunar lava tube">Lunar lava tube</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg/220px-Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg/330px-Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg/440px-Mare_Tranquillitatis_pit_crater.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>Lunar pit in Mare Tranquillitatis</figcaption></figure> <p>Lunar <a href="/wiki/Lava_tube" title="Lava tube">lava tubes</a> form a potentially important location for constructing a future lunar base, which may be used for local exploration and development, or as a <a href="/wiki/Human_outpost" title="Human outpost">human outpost</a> to serve exploration beyond the Moon. A lunar <a href="/wiki/Lava_cave" title="Lava cave">lava cave</a> potential has long been suggested and discussed in literature and thesis.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> 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.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Following the launch of the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter" title="Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter">Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter</a>, many lunar lava tubes have been imaged.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These lunar pits are found in several locations across the Moon, including <a href="/wiki/Marius_(crater)" title="Marius (crater)">Marius Hills</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mare_Ingenii" title="Mare Ingenii">Mare Ingenii</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mare_Tranquillitatis" title="Mare Tranquillitatis">Mare Tranquillitatis</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Lunar_magma_ocean">Lunar magma ocean</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Lunar magma ocean"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Lunar_magma_ocean" title="Lunar magma ocean">Lunar magma ocean</a></div> <p>The first <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">rocks</a> brought back by <a href="/wiki/Apollo_11" title="Apollo 11">Apollo 11</a> were <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basalts</a>. Although the mission landed on <a href="/wiki/Mare_Tranquillitatis" title="Mare Tranquillitatis">Mare Tranquillitatis</a>, a few millimetric fragments of rocks coming from the highlands were picked up. These are composed mainly of <a href="/wiki/Plagioclase" title="Plagioclase">plagioclase</a> <a href="/wiki/Feldspar" title="Feldspar">feldspar</a>; some fragments were composed exclusively of <a href="/wiki/Anorthite" title="Anorthite">anorthite</a>. The identification of these mineral fragments led to the bold <a href="/wiki/Hypothesis" title="Hypothesis">hypothesis</a> that a large portion of the Moon was once molten, and that the crust formed by fractional crystallization of this <a href="/wiki/Lunar_magma_ocean" title="Lunar magma ocean">magma ocean</a>. </p><p>A natural outcome of the hypothetical <a href="/wiki/Giant-impact_hypothesis" title="Giant-impact hypothesis">giant-impact event</a> is that the materials that re-accreted to form the Moon must have been hot. Current models predict that a large portion of the Moon would have been molten shortly after the Moon formed, with estimates for the depth of this magma ocean ranging from about 500 km to complete melting. Crystallization of this magma ocean would have given rise to a differentiated body with a compositionally distinct crust and mantle and accounts for the major suites of lunar rocks. </p><p>As crystallization of the lunar magma ocean proceeded, minerals such as olivine and pyroxene would have precipitated and sank to form the lunar mantle. After crystallization was about three-quarters complete, anorthositic plagioclase would have begun to crystallize, and because of its low density, float, forming an anorthositic crust. 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 <a href="/wiki/KREEP" title="KREEP">KREEP</a>-rich magma that initially should have been sandwiched between the crust and mantle. Evidence for this scenario comes from the highly anorthositic composition of the lunar highland crust, as well as the existence of KREEP-rich materials. Additionally, <a href="/wiki/Zircon" title="Zircon">zircon</a> analysis of <a href="/wiki/Apollo_14" title="Apollo 14">Apollo 14</a> samples suggests the lunar crust differentiated 4.51±0.01 billion years ago.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Moonhighlandsformation_lmb-en.png" class="mw-file-description" title="Formation of the anorthosite crust"><img alt="Formation of the anorthosite crust" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Moonhighlandsformation_lmb-en.png" decoding="async" width="358" height="316" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="358" data-file-height="316" /></a><figcaption>Formation of the <a href="/wiki/Anorthosite" title="Anorthosite">anorthosite</a> crust</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Lunar_rocks">Lunar rocks</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Lunar rocks"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">Moon rock</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Surface_materials">Surface materials</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Surface materials"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg/220px-Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="179" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg/330px-Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg/440px-Lunar_Olivine_Basalt_15555_from_Apollo_15_in_National_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3494" data-file-height="2848" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Olivine" title="Olivine">Olivine</a> <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basalt</a> collected by <a href="/wiki/Apollo_15" title="Apollo 15">Apollo 15</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo program</a> brought back 380.05 kilograms (837.87 lb) of <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">lunar surface material</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> most of which is stored at the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_Receiving_Laboratory" title="Lunar Receiving Laboratory">Lunar Receiving Laboratory</a> in <a href="/wiki/Houston,_Texas" class="mw-redirect" title="Houston, Texas">Houston, Texas</a>, and the uncrewed Soviet <a href="/wiki/Luna_programme" title="Luna programme">Luna programme</a> returned 326 grams (11.5 oz) of lunar material. These rocks have proved to be invaluable in deciphering the geologic evolution of the Moon. Lunar rocks are in large part made of the same common rock forming minerals as found on Earth, such as <a href="/wiki/Olivine" title="Olivine">olivine</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pyroxene" title="Pyroxene">pyroxene</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Plagioclase" title="Plagioclase">plagioclase</a> <a href="/wiki/Feldspar" title="Feldspar">feldspar</a> (<a href="/wiki/Anorthite" title="Anorthite">anorthite</a>). Plagioclase feldspar is mostly found in the lunar crust, whereas pyroxene and olivine are typically seen in the lunar mantle.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The mineral <a href="/wiki/Ilmenite" title="Ilmenite">ilmenite</a> is highly abundant in some mare basalts, and a new mineral named <a href="/wiki/Armalcolite" title="Armalcolite">armalcolite</a> (named for <i>Arm</i>strong, <i>Al</i>drin, and <i>Col</i>lins, the three members of the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_11" title="Apollo 11">Apollo 11</a> crew) was first discovered in the lunar samples. </p><p>The maria are composed predominantly of <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basalt</a>, whereas the highland regions are iron-poor and composed primarily of <a href="/wiki/Anorthosite" title="Anorthosite">anorthosite</a>, a rock composed primarily of <a href="/wiki/Calcium" title="Calcium">calcium</a>-rich plagioclase feldspar. Another significant component of the crust are the igneous <i>Mg-suite</i> rocks, such as the <a href="/wiki/Troctolite" title="Troctolite">troctolites</a>, <a href="/wiki/Norite" title="Norite">norites</a>, and KREEP-basalts. These rocks are thought to be related to the <a href="/wiki/Petrogenesis" title="Petrogenesis">petrogenesis</a> of <a href="/wiki/KREEP" title="KREEP">KREEP</a>. </p><p>Composite rocks on the lunar surface often appear in the form of <a href="/wiki/Breccia" title="Breccia">breccias</a>. Of these, the subcategories are called fragmental, <a href="/wiki/Granulite" title="Granulite">granulitic</a>, and impact-melt breccias, depending on how they were formed. The <a href="/wiki/Mafic" title="Mafic">mafic</a> impact melt breccias, which are typified by the <i>low-K Fra Mauro</i> composition, have a higher proportion of iron and magnesium than typical upper crust anorthositic rocks, as well as higher abundances of KREEP. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Composition_of_the_maria">Composition of the maria</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Composition of the maria"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The main characteristics of the <a href="/wiki/Basalt" title="Basalt">basaltic</a> rocks with respect to the rocks of the lunar highlands is that the basalts contain higher abundances of <a href="/wiki/Olivine" title="Olivine">olivine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pyroxene" title="Pyroxene">pyroxene</a>, and less <a href="/wiki/Plagioclase" title="Plagioclase">plagioclase</a>. They are richer in iron than terrestrial basalts, and also have lower viscosities. Some of them have high abundances of a <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">ferro</a>-<a href="/wiki/Titanium" title="Titanium">titanic</a> <a href="/wiki/Oxide" title="Oxide">oxide</a> called <a href="/wiki/Ilmenite" title="Ilmenite">ilmenite</a>. 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 <a href="/wiki/Apollo_12" title="Apollo 12">Apollo 12</a> mission returned to Earth with basalts of lower titanium concentrations, and these were dubbed "low titanium" basalts. Subsequent missions, including the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_space_program" title="Soviet space program">Soviet</a> robotic probes, returned with basalts with even lower concentrations, now called "very low titanium" basalts. The <i><a href="/wiki/Clementine_mission" class="mw-redirect" title="Clementine mission">Clementine</a></i> space probe returned data showing that the mare basalts have a continuum in titanium concentrations, with the highest concentration rocks being the least abundant. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Internal_structure">Internal structure</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Internal structure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Internal_structure_of_the_Moon" title="Internal structure of the Moon">Internal structure of the Moon</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1237032888/mw-parser-output/.tmulti"><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:224px;max-width:224px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:222px;max-width:222px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png/220px-Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="122" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png/330px-Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png/440px-Range_of_estimated_temperature_profiles_of_the_Moon%27s_interior.png 2x" data-file-width="1234" data-file-height="682" /></a></span></div></div></div><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:222px;max-width:222px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png/220px-Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="130" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png/330px-Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png/440px-Estimated_lithostatic_pressure_in_the_Moon%27s_crust.png 2x" data-file-width="874" data-file-height="515" /></a></span></div></div></div><div class="trow" style="display:flex"><div class="thumbcaption">The temperature and pressure of the Moon's interior increase with depth</div></div></div></div> <p>The current model of the interior of the Moon was derived using <a href="/wiki/Seismometer" title="Seismometer">seismometers</a> left behind during the crewed Apollo program missions, as well as investigations of the Moon's gravity field and rotation. </p><p>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. Its low bulk density (~3346 kg m<sup>−3</sup>) indicates a low metal abundance. Mass and <a href="/wiki/Moment_of_inertia" title="Moment of inertia">moment of inertia</a> constraints indicate that the Moon likely has an iron core that is less than about 450 km in radius. Studies of the Moon's physical librations (small perturbations to its rotation) furthermore indicate that the core is still molten. Most planetary bodies and moons have iron cores that are about half the size of the body. The Moon is thus anomalous in having a core whose size is only about one quarter of its radius. </p><p>The crust of the Moon is on average about 50 km thick (though this is uncertain by about ±15 km). It is estimated that the far-side crust is on average thicker than the near side by about 15 km.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Seismology has constrained the thickness of the crust only near the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_12" title="Apollo 12">Apollo 12</a> and <a href="/wiki/Apollo_14" title="Apollo 14">Apollo 14</a> landing sites. Although the initial <i>Apollo</i>-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. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Magnetic_field">Magnetic field</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Magnetic field"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Magnetic_field_of_the_Moon" title="Magnetic field of the Moon">Magnetic field of the Moon</a></div> <p>Compared with Earth, the Moon has a weak external magnetic field. Other significant differences are that the Moon does not currently have a dipolar magnetic field (as would be generated by a <a href="/wiki/Dynamo_theory" title="Dynamo theory">geodynamo</a> in its core), and the magnetizations that are present are almost entirely crustal in origin. One hypothesis holds that the crustal magnetizations were acquired early in lunar history when a geodynamo was still operating. However, the lunar core's small size is a potential obstacle to this hypothesis. Alternatively, it is possible that transient magnetic fields could be generated during impact processes on airless bodies such as the Moon. 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. Although the Moon does not have a dipolar <a href="/wiki/Magnetic_field" title="Magnetic field">magnetic field</a> like Earth's, some returned rocks have strong magnetizations. Furthermore, measurements from orbit show that some portions of the lunar surface are associated with strong magnetic fields. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output 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data-file-height="5600" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Solar_System" title="Portal:Solar System">Solar System portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_geologic_timescale" title="Lunar geologic timescale">Lunar geologic timescale</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_resources" title="Lunar resources">Lunar resources</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Selenography" title="Selenography">Selenography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transient_lunar_phenomenon" title="Transient lunar phenomenon">Transient lunar phenomenon</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dt>Cited references</dt></dl> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFKenneth_R._Lang2003" class="citation book cs1">Kenneth R. 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Cambridge University Press. p. 170. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521813068" title="Special:BookSources/9780521813068"><bdi>9780521813068</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Cambridge+Guide+to+the+Solar+System&rft.pages=170&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=9780521813068&rft.au=Kenneth+R.+Lang&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DRdCUsMy3l7EC%26pg%3DPA170&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199491-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199491_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFNASA1994">NASA 1994</a>, p. 91.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199493-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199493_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFNASA1994">NASA 1994</a>, p. 93.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199413-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199413_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199413_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFNASA1994">NASA 1994</a>, p. 13.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFScientific_and_Technical_Information_Branch1986" class="citation book cs1">Scientific and Technical Information Branch (1986). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8eRuWmV-948C&pg=PA13"><i>Status and Future of Lunar Geoscience</i></a>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>. p. 13. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780160042089" title="Special:BookSources/9780160042089"><bdi>9780160042089</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Status+and+Future+of+Lunar+Geoscience&rft.pages=13&rft.pub=NASA&rft.date=1986&rft.isbn=9780160042089&rft.au=Scientific+and+Technical+Information+Branch&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D8eRuWmV-948C%26pg%3DPA13&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Imster2014-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Imster2014_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Imster2014_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Imster2014_6-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFImster,_Eleanor2014" class="citation web cs1">Imster, Eleanor (12 October 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://earthsky.org/space/moon-saw-volcanic-eruptions-in-geologically-recent-times/">"Active moon volcanos in geologically recent times"</a>. <i>earthsky.org</i>. <a href="/wiki/Earth_%26_Sky" title="Earth & Sky">EarthSky</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 January</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=earthsky.org&rft.atitle=Active+moon+volcanos+in+geologically+recent+times&rft.date=2014-10-12&rft.au=Imster%2C+Eleanor&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fearthsky.org%2Fspace%2Fmoon-saw-volcanic-eruptions-in-geologically-recent-times%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTENASA199410-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTENASA199410_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFNASA1994">NASA 1994</a>, p. 10.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/">"Lunar Rocks and Soils from Apollo Missions"</a>. NASA<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 November</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Lunar+Rocks+and+Soils+from+Apollo+Missions&rft.pub=NASA&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fcurator.jsc.nasa.gov%2Flunar%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Luna_16-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Luna_16_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIvankov" class="citation web cs1">Ivankov, A. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-072A">"Luna 16"</a>. <i>National Space Science Data Center Catalog</i>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 October</span> 2018</span>. <q>The drill was deployed and penetrated to a depth of 35 cm before encountering hard rock or large fragments of rock. The column of regolith in the drill tube was then transferred to the soil sample container... the hermetically sealed soil sample container, lifted off from the Moon carrying 101 grams of collected material</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=National+Space+Science+Data+Center+Catalog&rft.atitle=Luna+16&rft.aulast=Ivankov&rft.aufirst=A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fnssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov%2Fnmc%2Fspacecraft%2Fdisplay.action%3Fid%3D1970-072A&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Luna_20-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Luna_20_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIvankov" class="citation web cs1">Ivankov, A. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1972-007A">"Luna 20"</a>. <i>National Space Science Data Center Catalog</i>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 October</span> 2018</span>. <q>Luna 20 was launched from the lunar surface on 22 February 1972 carrying 30 grams of collected lunar samples in a sealed capsule</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=National+Space+Science+Data+Center+Catalog&rft.atitle=Luna+20&rft.aulast=Ivankov&rft.aufirst=A.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fnssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov%2Fnmc%2Fspacecraft%2Fdisplay.action%3Fid%3D1972-007A&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Luna_24-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Luna_24_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIvankov" class="citation web cs1">Ivankov, A. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1976-081A">"Luna 24"</a>. <i>National Space Science Data Center Catalog</i>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Space.com. 5 July 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2015-12-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Craters+Expose+the+Moon%27s+Insides&rft.pub=Space.com&rft.date=2010-07-05&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.space.com%2Fscienceastronomy%2Fmoon-mantle-exposed-craters-100705.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMark_Wieczorek_and_15_coauthors2006" class="citation journal cs1">Mark Wieczorek and 15 coauthors, M. A. (2006). "The constitution and structure of the lunar interior". <i>Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry</i>. <b>60</b> (1): 221–364. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006RvMG...60..221W">2006RvMG...60..221W</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2138%2Frmg.2006.60.3">10.2138/rmg.2006.60.3</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Reviews+in+Mineralogy+and+Geochemistry&rft.atitle=The+constitution+and+structure+of+the+lunar+interior&rft.volume=60&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=221-364&rft.date=2006&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2138%2Frmg.2006.60.3&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2006RvMG...60..221W&rft.aulast=Mark+Wieczorek+and+15+coauthors&rft.aufirst=M.+A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_journal" title="Template:Cite journal">cite journal</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list" title="Category:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list">link</a>)</span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <dl><dt>Scientific references</dt></dl> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li>Don Wilhelms, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060307070600/http://cps.earth.northwestern.edu/GHM/ghm_01txt.pdf">Geologic History of the Moon</a></i>, U.S. Geological Survey.</li> <li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/rockyMoon/">To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration</a></i>, by D.E. Wilhelms. University of Arizona Press, Tucson (1993).</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.minsocam.org/msa/RIM/Rim60.html">New views of the Moon</a>, B. L. Jolliff, M. A. Wieczorek, C. K. Shearer and C. R. Neal (editors), Rev. Mineral. Geochem., 60, Min. Soc. Amer., Chantilly, Virginia, 721 pp., 2006.</li> <li><i>The Lunar Sourcebook: A User's Guide to the Moon</i>, by G.H. Heiken, D.T. Vaniman, B.M. French, et al. Cambridge University Press, New York (1991). <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-33444-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-33444-6">0-521-33444-6</a>.</li> <li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ads.harvard.edu/books/ormo/">Origin of the Moon</a></i>, edited by W.K. Hartmann, R.J. Phillips, G. J. Taylor, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-942862-03-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-942862-03-1">0-942862-03-1</a>.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCanupRighter2000" class="citation book cs1">Canup, R.; Righter, K., eds. (2000). <i>Origin of the Earth and Moon</i>. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8165-2073-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-8165-2073-9"><bdi>0-8165-2073-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Origin+of+the+Earth+and+Moon&rft.pub=University+of+Arizona+Press%2C+Tucson&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0-8165-2073-9&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <dl><dt>General references</dt></dl> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239549316"><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Spudis" title="Paul Spudis">Paul D. Spudis</a>, <i>The Once and Future Moon</i>, <a href="/wiki/1998_in_literature" title="1998 in literature">1998</a>, Smithsonian Books, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56098-847-9" title="Special:BookSources/1-56098-847-9">1-56098-847-9</a>.</li> <li>Dana Mackenzie, <i>The Big Splat, or How Our Moon Came to Be</i>, <a href="/wiki/2003_in_literature" title="2003 in literature">2003</a>, John Wiley & Sons, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-471-15057-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-471-15057-6">0-471-15057-6</a>.</li> <li>Charles Frankel, <i>Volcanoes of the Solar System</i>, Cambridge University Press, <a href="/wiki/1996_in_literature" title="1996 in literature">1996</a>, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-47201-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-47201-6">0-521-47201-6</a>.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFG._Jeffrey_Taylor2005" class="citation web cs1">G. Jeffrey Taylor (November 22, 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov05/MoonComposition.html">"Gamma Rays, Meteorites, Lunar Samples, and the Composition of the Moon"</a>. Planetary Science Research Discoveries.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Gamma+Rays%2C+Meteorites%2C+Lunar+Samples%2C+and+the+Composition+of+the+Moon&rft.pub=Planetary+Science+Research+Discoveries&rft.date=2005-11-22&rft.au=G.+Jeffrey+Taylor&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psrd.hawaii.edu%2FNov05%2FMoonComposition.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLinda_Martel2004" class="citation web cs1">Linda Martel (September 28, 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept04/LunarRays.html">"Lunar Crater Rays Point to a New Lunar Time Scale"</a>. Planetary Science Research Discoveries.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Lunar+Crater+Rays+Point+to+a+New+Lunar+Time+Scale&rft.pub=Planetary+Science+Research+Discoveries&rft.date=2004-09-28&rft.au=Linda+Martel&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psrd.hawaii.edu%2FSept04%2FLunarRays.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMarc_Norman2004" class="citation web cs1">Marc Norman (April 21, 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/April04/lunarAnorthosites.html">"The Oldest Moon Rocks"</a>. Planetary Science Research Discoveries.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Oldest+Moon+Rocks&rft.pub=Planetary+Science+Research+Discoveries&rft.date=2004-04-21&rft.au=Marc+Norman&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psrd.hawaii.edu%2FApril04%2FlunarAnorthosites.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFG._Jeffrey_Taylor2003" class="citation web cs1">G. Jeffrey Taylor (November 28, 2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov03/Hf-W.html">"Hafnium, Tungsten, and the Differentiation of the Moon and Mars"</a>. Planetary Science Research Discoveries.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Hafnium%2C+Tungsten%2C+and+the+Differentiation+of+the+Moon+and+Mars&rft.pub=Planetary+Science+Research+Discoveries&rft.date=2003-11-28&rft.au=G.+Jeffrey+Taylor&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psrd.hawaii.edu%2FNov03%2FHf-W.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFG._Jeffrey_Taylor1998" class="citation web cs1">G. Jeffrey Taylor (December 31, 1998). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Dec98/OriginEarthMoon.html">"Origin of the Earth and Moon"</a>. Planetary Science Research Discoveries.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Origin+of+the+Earth+and+Moon&rft.pub=Planetary+Science+Research+Discoveries&rft.date=1998-12-31&rft.au=G.+Jeffrey+Taylor&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psrd.hawaii.edu%2FDec98%2FOriginEarthMoon.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFNASA1994" class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ChBdziao0hwC&pg=PA91">"Exploring the Moon: A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Earth and Space Sciences"</a>. <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>. 1994. p. 91.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Exploring+the+Moon%3A+A+Teacher%27s+Guide+with+Activities+for+Earth+and+Space+Sciences&rft.pages=91&rft.pub=NASA&rft.date=1994&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DChBdziao0hwC%26pg%3DPA91&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeology+of+the+Moon" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_Moon&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-362/contents.htm">Apollo over the Moon: A View from Orbit</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141007191724/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-362/ch7.1.htm">Archived</a> 2014-10-07 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></i>, edited by Harold Masursky, G. W. Colton, and Farouk El-baz, NASA SP-362.</li> <li>Eric Douglass, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050424195813/http://www.moonsociety.org/certificate/lunargeology.html">Geologic Processes on the Moon</a></i></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/">Lunar Sample Information (JSC)</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj">The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (NASA)</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081216040656/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/">Archived</a> 2008-12-16 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/">Lunar and Planetary Institute: Exploring the Moon</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20021028170639/http://www.nrl.navy.mil/clementine/clib/">Clementine Lunar Image Browser</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ralphaeschliman.com/id26.htm">Ralph Aeschliman Planetary Cartography and Graphics: Lunar Maps</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040206052233/http://ralphaeschliman.com/id26.htm">Archived</a> 2004-02-06 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ipgp.jussieu.fr/~wieczor/CrustalThicknessArchive/CrustalThickness.html">Lunar Gravity, Topography and Crustal Thickness Archive</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150213041007/http://www.ipgp.jussieu.fr/~wieczor/CrustalThicknessArchive/CrustalThickness.html">Archived</a> 2015-02-13 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/lunar_images/">Lunar and Planetary Institute: Lunar Atlas and Photography Collection</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cas.usf.edu/~jryan/moonrocks.html">Moon Rocks through the Microscope</a> Retrieved 22 August 2007</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Archive/Archive-Moon.html">Moon articles in Planetary Science Research Discoveries</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.onislam.net/english/health-and-science/news/453799-another-hit-to-hoaxtraces-of-man-on-lunar-surface.html">Another Hit to Hoax:Traces of Man on Lunar Surface</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://moon3dmap.com/">Visible and Terrain Map of the Moon</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr5Pj6GQL2o"><span class="plainlinks">Video (04:56) – The Moon in 4K (NASA, April 2018)</span></a> on <a href="/wiki/YouTube_video_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="YouTube video (identifier)">YouTube</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output 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.navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Moon" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:The_Moon" title="Template:The Moon"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:The_Moon" title="Template talk:The Moon"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:The_Moon" title="Special:EditPage/Template:The Moon"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Moon" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_the_Moon" title="Outline of the Moon">Outline</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Physical<br />properties</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Internal_structure_of_the_Moon" title="Internal structure of the Moon">Internal structure</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Selenography" title="Selenography">Topography</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Atmosphere_of_the_Moon" title="Atmosphere of the Moon">Atmosphere</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Gravitation_of_the_Moon" title="Gravitation of the Moon">Gravity field</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Hill_sphere" title="Hill sphere">Hill sphere</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Magnetic_field_of_the_Moon" title="Magnetic field of the Moon">Magnetic field</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Sodium_tail_of_the_Moon" title="Sodium tail of the Moon">Sodium tail</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moonlight" title="Moonlight">Moonlight</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Earthlight_(astronomy)" title="Earthlight (astronomy)">Earthshine</a></span></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="9" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:FullMoon2010.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="A full moon"><img alt="A full moon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/FullMoon2010.jpg/90px-FullMoon2010.jpg" decoding="async" width="90" height="86" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/FullMoon2010.jpg/135px-FullMoon2010.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/FullMoon2010.jpg/180px-FullMoon2010.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2580" data-file-height="2452" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon" title="Orbit of the Moon">Orbit</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_distance_(astronomy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar distance (astronomy)">Lunar distance</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_elements" title="Orbital elements">Orbital elements</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_distance_(astronomy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar distance (astronomy)">Distance</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">Perigee and apogee</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Libration" title="Libration">Libration</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_node" title="Lunar node">Nodes</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Nodal_period" title="Nodal period">Nodal period</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_precession" title="Lunar precession">Precession</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Syzygy_(astronomy)" title="Syzygy (astronomy)">Syzygy</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/New_moon" title="New moon">New moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Full_moon" title="Full moon">Full moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Eclipse" title="Eclipse">Eclipses</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_eclipse" title="Lunar eclipse">Lunar eclipse</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Total_penumbral_lunar_eclipse" title="Total penumbral lunar eclipse">Total penumbral lunar eclipse</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tetrad_(astronomy)" title="Tetrad (astronomy)">Tetrad</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Solar_eclipse" title="Solar eclipse">Solar eclipse</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Solar_eclipses_on_the_Moon" title="Solar eclipses on the Moon">Solar eclipses on the Moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Eclipse_cycle" title="Eclipse cycle">Eclipse cycle</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Supermoon" title="Supermoon">Supermoon</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tide" title="Tide">Tide</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tidal_force" title="Tidal force">Tidal force</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tidal_locking" title="Tidal locking">Tidal locking</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tidal_acceleration" title="Tidal acceleration">Tidal acceleration</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tidal_range" title="Tidal range">Tidal range</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_station" title="Lunar station">Lunar station</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Surface and<br /><a href="/wiki/List_of_lunar_features" title="List of lunar features">features</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Selenography" title="Selenography">Selenography</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_terminator" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar terminator">Terminator</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_limb" title="Lunar limb">Limb</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap">Hemispheres</span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Near_side_of_the_Moon" title="Near side of the Moon">Near side</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Far_side_of_the_Moon" title="Far side of the Moon">Far side</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap">Poles</span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_north_pole" title="Lunar north pole">North pole</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_south_pole" title="Lunar south pole">South pole</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Face_on_Moon_South_Pole" title="Face on Moon South Pole">Face</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">Maria</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_maria_on_the_Moon" title="List of maria on the Moon">List</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_mountains_on_the_Moon" title="List of mountains on the Moon">Mountains</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Peak_of_eternal_light" title="Peak of eternal light">Peak of eternal light</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_valleys_on_the_Moon" title="List of valleys on the Moon">Valleys</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Volcanism_on_the_Moon#Features" title="Volcanism on the Moon">Volcanic features</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_dome" title="Lunar dome">Domes</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Caldera#The_Moon" title="Caldera">Calderas</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube" title="Lunar lava tube">Lava tubes</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_craters" title="Lunar craters">Craters</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_craters_on_the_Moon" title="List of craters on the Moon">List</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Ray_system#Lunar_rays" title="Ray system">Ray systems</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Permanently_shadowed_crater" title="Permanently shadowed crater">Permanently shadowed craters</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/South_Pole%E2%80%93Aitken_basin" title="South Pole–Aitken basin">South Pole–Aitken basin</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_soil" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar soil">Soil</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_swirls" title="Lunar swirls">swirls</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Rille" title="Rille">Rilles</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Wrinkle_ridge" title="Wrinkle ridge">Wrinkle ridges</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">Rocks</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_basalt_70017" title="Lunar basalt 70017">Lunar basalt 70017</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Changesite-(Y)" title="Changesite-(Y)">Changesite-(Y)</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_water" title="Lunar water">Water</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Space_weathering" title="Space weathering">Space weathering</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Micrometeorite" title="Micrometeorite">Micrometeorite</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Sputtering" title="Sputtering">Sputtering</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Quake_(natural_phenomenon)#Moonquake" title="Quake (natural phenomenon)">Quakes</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Transient_lunar_phenomenon" title="Transient lunar phenomenon">Transient lunar phenomenon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Selenographic_coordinate_system" title="Selenographic coordinate system">Selenographic coordinate system</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Science</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_observation" title="Lunar observation">Observation</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Libration#Lunar_libration" title="Libration">Libration</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_theory" title="Lunar theory">Lunar theory</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Origin_of_the_Moon" title="Origin of the Moon">Origin</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Giant-impact_hypothesis" title="Giant-impact hypothesis">Giant-impact hypothesis</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Theia_(planet)" title="Theia (planet)">Theia</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_magma_ocean" title="Lunar magma ocean">Lunar magma ocean</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Geology</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_geologic_timescale" title="Lunar geologic timescale">Timescale</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment" title="Late Heavy Bombardment">Late Heavy Bombardment</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_meteorite" title="Lunar meteorite">Lunar meteorites</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/KREEP" title="KREEP">KREEP</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Volcanism_on_the_Moon" title="Volcanism on the Moon">Volcanism</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap">Experiments</span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar Laser Ranging experiment">Lunar laser ranging</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Surface_Experiments_Package" title="Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package">ALSEP</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_sample_displays" title="Lunar sample displays">Lunar sample displays</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Apollo_11_lunar_sample_display" title="Apollo 11 lunar sample display">Apollo 11</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Apollo_17_lunar_sample_display" title="Apollo 17 lunar sample display">Apollo 17</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_seismology" title="Lunar seismology">Lunar seismology</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon" title="Exploration of the Moon">Exploration</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon" title="List of missions to the Moon">Missions</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo program</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_walked_on_the_Moon" class="mw-redirect" title="List of people who have walked on the Moon">Explorers</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_lunar_probes" title="List of lunar probes">Probes</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_landing" title="Moon landing">Landing</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon" title="Colonization of the Moon">Colonization</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moonbase" title="Moonbase">Moonbase</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tourism_on_the_Moon" title="Tourism on the Moon">Tourism</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_resources" title="Lunar resources">Lunar resources</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Time-telling <br />and <a href="/wiki/Celestial_navigation" title="Celestial navigation">navigation</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_calendar" title="Lunar calendar">Lunar calendar</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunisolar_calendar" title="Lunisolar calendar">Lunisolar calendar</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Month" title="Month">Month</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_month" title="Lunar month">Lunar month</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Nodal_period" title="Nodal period">Nodal period</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Fortnight" title="Fortnight">Fortnight</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Week" title="Week">Sennight</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_station" title="Lunar station">Lunar station</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_distance_(navigation)" title="Lunar distance (navigation)">Lunar distance</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_phase" title="Lunar phase">Phases</a> and<br />names</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/New_moon" title="New moon">New</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Full_moon" title="Full moon">Full</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Full_moon#Full_moon_names" title="Full moon">Names</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Crescent" title="Crescent">Crescent</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Supermoon" title="Supermoon">Super and micro</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_eclipse" title="Lunar eclipse">Blood</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Blue_moon" title="Blue moon">Blue</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Black_moon" title="Black moon">Black</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Dark_moon" title="Dark moon">Dark</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Wet_moon" title="Wet moon">Wet</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Tetrad_(astronomy)" title="Tetrad (astronomy)">Tetrad</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Daily phenomena</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moonrise_and_moonset" title="Moonrise and moonset">Moonrise</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Culmination" title="Culmination">Meridian passage</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moonrise_and_moonset" title="Moonrise and moonset">Moonset</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_deity" title="Lunar deity">Lunar deities</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_effect" title="Lunar effect">Lunar effect</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Earth_phase" title="Earth phase">Earth phase</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_illusion" title="Moon illusion">Moon illusion</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Lunar_pareidolia" title="Lunar pareidolia">Pareidolia</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Man_in_the_Moon" title="Man in the Moon">Man in the Moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_rabbit" title="Moon rabbit">Moon rabbit</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_with_craters_of_the_Moon_named_after_them" title="List of people with craters of the Moon named after them">Craters named after people</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_on_the_Moon" title="List of artificial objects on the Moon">Artificial objects on the Moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_extraterrestrial_memorials#The_Moon" title="List of extraterrestrial memorials">Memorials on the Moon</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_in_science_fiction" title="Moon in science fiction">Moon in science fiction</a></span> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_appearances_of_the_Moon_in_fiction" title="List of appearances of the Moon in fiction">list</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_fictional_astronauts_(Project_Apollo_era)" title="List of fictional astronauts (Project Apollo era)">Apollo era</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/List_of_fictional_astronauts_(futuristic_exploration_of_Moon)" title="List of fictional astronauts (futuristic exploration of Moon)">futuristic exploration</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Hollow_Moon" title="Hollow Moon">Hollow Moon</a></span></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_landing_conspiracy_theories" title="Moon landing conspiracy theories">Moon landing conspiracy theories</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Moon_Treaty" title="Moon Treaty">Moon Treaty</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap">"<a href="/wiki/The_Moon_is_made_of_green_cheese" title="The Moon is made of green cheese">Moon is made of green cheese</a>"</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Natural_satellite" title="Natural satellite">Natural satellite</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Double_planet" title="Double planet">Double planet</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Planetary_objects_proposed_in_religion,_astrology,_ufology_and_pseudoscience#Lilith" title="Planetary objects proposed in religion, astrology, ufology and pseudoscience">Lilith (hypothetical second moon)</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Splitting_of_the_Moon" title="Splitting of the Moon">Splitting of the Moon</a></span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, 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