Long-Lived Volcanism on the Lunar Farside Revealed by SELENE Terrain Camera

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We determined model ages of mare deposits on the farside of the Moon on the basis of the crater frequency distributions in 10-meter-resolution images obtained by the Terrain Camera on SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) (Kaguya). Most mare volcanism that formed mare deposits on the lunar farside ceased at ∼3.0 billion years ago, suggesting that mare volcanism on the Moon was markedly reduced globally during this period. However, several mare deposits at various locations on the lunar farside also show a much younger age, clustering at ∼2.5 billion years ago. These young ages indicate that mare volcanism on the lunar farside lasted longer than was previously considered and may have occurred episodically.

This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit: