This image shows the Moon in an orientation not seen from Earth. In this picture, Mare Smythii is in the center. Usually, Mare Smythii appears on far, east side of the Moon when viewed from Earth. To the left of Mare Smythii are the more familiar features, Maria Crisium and Mare Fecuditatis. Scientists believe that the dark basins, mare, form when an object from space collides with the surface of the Moon. Many of these basins contain lava flows.
NASA