Nansen-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 valley, at the base of the South Massif. 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 ...

visited 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. The astronauts referred to it simply as Nansen during the mission. Geology Station 2 of the mission was located at Nansen. Nansen is located in the 'light mantle' which is almost certainly an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

deposit from the South Massif. To the north of Nansen is

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 ...

crater and Geology Station 3. To the northeast is Shorty and Geology Station 4. About 5 km to the east are Mackin and

Hess High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) is a system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for the investigation of cosmic gamma rays in the photon energy range of 0.03 to 100 TeV. The acronym was chosen in honour of Victor ...

craters. The crater was named by the astronauts after

Fridtjof 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 ...

, a Norwegian explorer.The Valley of Taurus-Littrow
Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal, Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright 1995 by Eric M. Jones File:Nansen crater AS17-137-20942-47-49-55.jpg, Nansen crater at the base of South Massif, facing north. Note the rover near the right edge for scale. The boulder in right foreground (''boulder 2'') was heavily sampled by the astronauts. Image:Nansen crater AS17-P-2750 ASU.jpg, Apollo 17 panoramic camera image. Note the boulders near center which are visible in the ground-level image as well.

References

External links

43D1S2(25) Apollo 17 Traverses
at Lunar and Planetary Institute
Geological Investigation of the Taurus-Littrow Valley: Apollo 17 Landing Site
{{Apollo program Impact craters on the Moon Apollo 17