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Stadius (crater)
Stadius is a Palimpsest, ghostly remnant of an ancient Lunar craters, lunar impact crater that has been nearly obliterated by basaltic lava flows. It was named after Flemish astronomer Johannes Stadius. It lies to the southwest of the much younger crater Eratosthenes (crater), Eratosthenes, at the north edge of Mare Insularum where the Lunar mare, mare joins Sinus Aestuum. To the west is the prominent ray crater Copernicus (lunar crater), Copernicus, and multiple secondary craters from the Copernican ejecta cover this area. To the northwest is a chain of craters that continue in a roughly linear formation until reaching Mare Imbrium. Only the northwestern rim of Stadius remains nearly intact, and it joins with a north-running ridge line that reaches the western wikt:rampart, rampart of Eratosthenes. The remainder of the formation forms a ghostly trace of the original rim, created from a few rises in the surface, and there is no indication of a central peak. The flat crater floor i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric Polar orbit, polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies. Launched on June 18, 2009, in conjunction with the LCROSS, Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, LRO was the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. The probe has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
