LROC: Crisium Constellation ROI

Boulders on a wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium may help us understand the geology of this Constellation region of interest. The scene is 460 meters across [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].Brett DeneviLROC News SystemThe Constellation program region of interest located in Mare Crisium is a compelling Exploration site for many reasons. First, this site was visited by several Soviet landers - Luna 23 and Luna 24 both touched down in Crisium. Luna 24 succeeded in returning a 170 gram sample in 1976. Though the amount was small, it provided a wealth of information and an interesting mystery. The Luna 24 basalt has a titanium dioxide content of about 1%, placing it among the lowest abundances of any lunar basalt sampled. The titanium content of basalts on the Moon varies widely, from almost none up to nearly 15%; a much wider range than typically seen on Earth. Because samples were only returned from a few limited locations on the Moon, we use remote sensing data to fill in the gaps of our knowledge (read this PSRD article for more details).Basalts that are rich in titanium absorb more light in ultraviolet and visible wavelengths than those with less titanium, and many people have used ...