Mare Imbrium

lunar basin

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June 17, 2026

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Mare Imbrium is a large, dark, basaltic plain on the Moon, formed by ancient lava flows that filled a massive impact basin. The term "mare" (Latin for "sea") was mistakenly applied by early observers who thought these dark areas were bodies of water.12

Mare Imbrium is one of the largest of these lunar basins, created by a colossal impact billions of years ago. Following this impact, volcanic activity flooded the basin with magma, forming the smooth, dark surface visible today. These maria, along with the brighter lunar highlands, create the patterns recognized as the "man in the moon". The surface of Mare Imbrium, like other lunar maria, is covered in regolith, a layer of dust and rock fragments resulting from billions of years of meteoroid bombardment.123

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Moon
Origin and evolution
…the great Imbrium Basin, or Mare Imbrium, and its mountain ramparts. During some period over the next several hundred million years there occurred the long sequence of volcanic events that filled the near-side basins with mare lavas.
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…the great Imbrium Basin, or Mare Imbrium, and its mountain ramparts. During some period over the next several hundred million years there occurred the long sequence of volcanic events that filled the near-side basins with mare lavas.
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Fra Mauro
…the giant Imbrium Basin (Mare Imbrium) to the north—the largest impact basin (mare) on the Moon’s near side. A broad, shallow valley within the formation about 50 km (30 miles) north of Fra Mauro crater served as the site of the Apollo 14 lunar landing in February 1971. On…
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…the giant Imbrium Basin (Mare Imbrium) to the north—the largest impact basin (mare) on the Moon’s near side. A broad, shallow valley within the formation about 50 km (30 miles) north of Fra Mauro crater served as the site of the Apollo 14 lunar landing in February 1971. On…
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Chang’e
The lander touched down in Mare Imbrium in the Moon’s northern hemisphere on December 14. China thus became the first country to land a probe on the Moon after the Soviet Union and the United States, and Chang’e 3 was the first probe to perform a controlled landing on the…
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The lander touched down in Mare Imbrium in the Moon’s northern hemisphere on December 14. China thus became the first country to land a probe on the Moon after the Soviet Union and the United States, and Chang’e 3 was the first probe to perform a controlled landing on the…
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