Mons Hadley Delta (δ) is a

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

in the northern portion of the

Montes Apenninus Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy. With their formation dating back about 3.9 billion years, Montes Apenninus are fairly old. Descri ...

, a range in the northern hemisphere of the

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 ...

adjacent to

Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains") is a vast lunar mare, lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collision ...

. It has a height of 3.6 km above the plains to the north and west. Apollo 15 Mt

To the north of this mountain is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

that served as the landing site for the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

expedition. To the northeast of this same valley is the slightly larger

Mons Hadley Mons Hadley is a massif in the northern portion of the Montes Apenninus, a range in the northern hemisphere of the Moon. It has a height of above the adjacent plain and a maximum diameter of 25 km at the base. To the southwest of thi ...

peak with a height of about 4.6 km. To the west of these peaks is the sinuous Rima Hadley

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 ...

. These features were named after the English mathematician and inventor of the octant

John Hadley John Hadley (16 April 1682 – 14 February 1744) was an England, English mathematician, and laid claim to the invention of the octant (instrument), octant, two years after Thomas Godfrey (inventor), Thomas Godfrey claimed the same. Biograp ...

. On the

mission in 1971, the astronauts

David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the List of Apollo astronauts#People who have walked on the Moon, seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the NASA Astronaut ...

and

James Irwin James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force Aviator, pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landin ...

explored the lower reaches of the north slope of Mons Hadley Delta, and collected many samples which were returned to earth. Station 2 was near

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

crater, and Stations 6, 6A, and 7 were at or near

Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

crater. They found the famous "

Genesis Rock The Genesis Rock (sample 15415) is a sample of Moon rock retrieved by Apollo 15 astronauts James Irwin and David Scott in 1971 during the second lunar extravehicular activity, EVA, at Spur (lunar crater), Spur crater on Earth's Moon. With a mass ...

", sample 15415, at Spur. A clast of

anorthosite Anorthosite () is a phaneritic, intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock characterized by its composition: mostly plagioclase feldspar (90–100%), with a minimal mafic component (0–10%). Pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, and olivine are the mafic ...

within this rock is likely to be a piece of the primordial lunar crust.

References

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External links

{{Commonscat
LTO-41B4 Hadley
&mdash
L&PI
Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap Hadley Delta, Mons

See also

References

External links