Moltke is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

near the southern edge of the

Mare Tranquillitatis Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It contains Tranquility Base, the first location on another celestial body to be visited by huma ...

. It is a small, bowl-shaped crater surrounded by a bright halo of higher-

albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...

material. Just to the south lies the

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers w ...

system named Rimae Hypatia. These follow a course running roughly east-southeast to west-northwest, and have a length of approximately 180 kilometers. About 50 kilometers to the northwest of this crater is

Tranquility Base Tranquility Base () is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Mo ...

, the 1969 landing site of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

. The crater is named after German army general and author

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (; 26 October 180024 April 1891) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more ...

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Moltke. Moltke B was informally called ''Little Moltke'' by the

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing (Apollo 11, two ...

and

crews.

References

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External links

Impact Melt Boundary
within Moltke, from

LROC James Elbert Phillips, known professionally as LRoc, is an American record producer who has served as in-house talent for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings since 1997. His credits include the singles " Call on Me" by Janet Jackson, " Everyt ...

Lunar Orbiter 3 Frame 072
very high resolution view of east rim of Moltke
Lunar Orbiter 5 Frame 071
high resolution view of Moltke and

landing site {{Commons category Impact craters on the Moon