The Marius Hills region was at one time considered a possible landing site for a lunar landing mission during the American Apollo program (eventually becoming the alternative site for Apollo 15), with the possibility of gaining insight about the volcanic history of the Moon from domes in the area. This photo is an enlarged section of a Lunar Orbiter 4 photo of the region. The Bellcom/USGS proposed landing site northwest of Marius crater (not shown) and north of two prominent, unnamed rilles in the region. Additional radar echo patterns suggesting intact lava tubes have been found at several other locations around the Marius Hills, which correspond to areas of mass deficit in the GRAIL data. The depth of this hole is estimated to be between 80 and 88 m (262 and 289 ft) and its width is estimated to be several hundreds of meters. There is a possibility that this feature could be a skylight in a lava tube. The hole, first discovered by the Japanese SELenological and ENgineering Explorer ( SELENE) and then later imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been the subject of much research and speculation. Analysis of lower albedo, or less reflective boulders suggest that many domes in the area may contain two layers of material: (1) an upper layer of thin, dark material covering (2) a layer of thick, bright material. This hypothesis, however, is not supported by data obtained from the Clementine lunar orbiter. This suggests blocky lava with a high silica content formed these features. Bright, high albedo boulders have been shown to be characteristic of lava flows in the Marius Hills. Another feature, possibly pyroclastic, or primarily volcanic in composition, has a roughly circular shape and steep sides. ![]() Domes ĭata from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been used to identify two different varieties of domes among the Marius Hills: (1) large, irregularly shaped domes and (2) smaller domes with steep sides and diameters of about 1–2 km (0.62–1.24 mi). The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed a pit that could be a skylight in a lava tube, indicating that part of its roof has collapsed, as often happens after lava tubes cease to be active. Geography and geology Īn abundance of domes, cones, and volcanic rilles and channels is characteristic of the Marius Hills. These hills represent the highest concentration of volcanic features on the Moon. The Marius Hills take their name from the nearby 41 km (25 mi) diameter crater Marius. These domes average approximately 200–500 m (660–1,640 ft) in height. The domes are thought to have formed from lavas fairly more viscous than those that formed lunar mares. The Marius Hills are a set of volcanic domes located in Oceanus Procellarum on Earth's Moon.
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