title: A young multilayered terrane of the northern Mare Imbrium revealed by Chang'E-3 mission.
abstract: China's Chang'E-3 (CE-3) spacecraft touched down on the northern Mare Imbrium of the lunar nearside (340.49°E, 44.12°N), a region not directly sampled before. We report preliminary results with data from the CE-3 lander descent camera and from the Yutu rover's camera and penetrating radar. After the landing at a young 450-meter crater rim, the Yutu rover drove 114 meters on the ejecta blanket and photographed the rough surface and the excavated boulders. The boulder contains a substantial amount of crystals, which are most likely plagioclase and/or other mafic silicate mineral aggregates similar to terrestrial dolerite. The Lunar Penetrating Radar detection and integrated geological interpretation have identified more than nine subsurface layers, suggesting that this region has experienced complex geological processes since the Imbrian and is compositionally distinct from the Apollo and Luna landing sites.
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China. longxiao@cug.edu.cn zhupm@cug.edu.cn gyfang@mail.ie.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. longxiao@cug.edu.cn zhupm@cug.edu.cn gyfang@mail.ie.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Peimin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China. longxiao@cug.edu.cn zhupm@cug.edu.cn gyfang@mail.ie.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guangyou
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. The Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, Sem Sælandsvei 24, 0371 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: National Astronomical Observatories, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100012 China.
authors.forename: Yongliao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jiannan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Yuefeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yicai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Qunying
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Shaoxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yuxi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electronics, China Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yunze
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao