Hess-Apollo is a feature on Earth's
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
, a crater in
Taurus–Littrow
Taurus–Littrow is a Moon, lunar valley located on the Near side of the Moon, near side at the coordinates . It served as the landing site for the United States, American Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, the last crewed mission to the Moon ...
valley. Astronauts
Eugene Cernan
Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot.
Cernan traveled into space three times and ...
and
Harrison Schmitt
Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...
landed north of it in 1972, on the
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...
mission, but did not visit it. The astronauts referred to it simply as Hess during the mission.
Hess is adjacent to the similarly sized crater
Mackin. To the north is
Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
, to the northwest are
Shorty and
Lara
Lara may refer to:
People
* Lara (name), can be a given name or a surname in several languages
* Lara (mythology), a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's ''Fasti''
Places
*Lara (state), a state in Venezuela
* Electoral district ...
, and to the west is
Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...
. To the northeast is
Emory.
The crater was named by the astronauts after geologist
Harry Hammond Hess
Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He published theories on s ...
.
The Valley of Taurus-Littrow
Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal, Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright 1995 by Eric M. Jones
References
External links
43D1S2(25) Apollo 17 Traverses
at Lunar and Planetary Institute
Geological Investigation of the Taurus–Littrow Valley: Apollo 17 Landing Site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721150629/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17pp-geosynth.pdf , date=2019-07-21
Impact craters on the Moon
Apollo 17