Mare Fecunditatis

Mare Fecunditatis Template:IPAc-en (Latin fēcunditātis, the "Sea of Fecundity" or "Sea of Fertility") is a lunar mare in the eastern half of the visible Moon. The mare has a maximum diameter of 840 km.<ref name=USGS/>

Description

The Fecunditatis basin formed in the Pre-Nectarian epoch, while the basin material surrounding the mare is of the subsequent Nectarian epoch. The mare material is of the Upper Imbrian epoch and is relatively thin compared to the neighboring Mare Crisium or Mare Tranquillitatis. This basin is overlapped with the Nectaris, Tranquillitatis, and Crisium basins. Fecunditatis basin meets Nectaris basin along Fecunditatis' western edge, with the area along this zone faulted by arcuated grabens. On the eastern edge of Fecunditatis is the crater Langrenus. Near the center lie the interesting craters Messier and Messier A. It was here that the first automated sample return took place via the Luna 16 probe,<ref name=Reid1972/> in September 1970. Sinus Successus lies along the eastern edge of the mare.

Unlike many other maria, there is no mass concentration (mascon), or gravitational high, in the center of Mare Fecunditatis. Mascons were identified in the center of other maria (such as Serenitatis or Imbrium) from Doppler tracking of the five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The gravity field was mapped at higher resolution with later orbiters such as Lunar Prospector and GRAIL, which unveiled an irregular pattern.

Gallery

• Fecunditatis basin topo.jpg

  Topographic map

• Fecunditatis basin GRAIL gravity.jpg

  Gravity map based on GRAIL

• Mare Fecunditatis AS15-95-12995.jpg

  Apollo 15 image

See also

• The Sea of Fertility - a tetralogy of novels by Mishima Yukio, named after the sea

External links

• High resolution lunar overflight video by Seán Doran, based on LRO data, that starts over the western margin of Mare Fecunditatis and then proceeds to Mare Crisium
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