Lunar Mare Fecunditatis: A Science-Rich Region and a Concept Mission for Long-Distance Exploration

Mare Fecunditatis is a ~310,000 km(2) flat basalt plain located in the low-latitude area of the Moon. Plenty of volcanic features (multiple episodes of mare basalts, sinuous rilles, lava tubes, pyroclastic deposits, domes, irregular mare patches (IMP), ring-moat dome structures (RMDS), floor-fractured craters), tectonic features (grabens and wrinkle ridges), impact-related features, and other features (swirls, pit craters) are identified in Mare Fecunditatis. An in-situ mission to Mare Fecunditatis is scientifically significant to better understand the lunar thermal histories and other questions. All previous in-situ and human missions (Apollo, Luna, Chang'E) were limited to small areas, and no traverse longer than 40 km has been made yet. With the development of technology, long-distance movement will be possible in the future on the lunar surface, providing opportunities to explore multiple sites at one mission with complete documentation of the regional geology. Eight high-value targets (pit crater, IMPs, RMDSs, young basalts, high-Al basalts, pyroclastic deposits, swirls, and fresh craters) were found in Mare Fecunditatis, and a ~1400 km-traverse in 5 years is proposed to explore them to solve the most fundamental lunar questions.

Automated summary

Mare Fecunditatis is a large flat basalt plain on the Moon, containing a variety of volcanic, tectonic, and impact-related features. A mission to this area would be scientifically significant in understanding the lunar history and other questions. With potential long-distance movement on the lunar surface in the future, it would provide opportunities to explore multiple sites and document the regional geology.