Rhysling 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 the

Hadley–Apennine Hadley–Apennine is a region on the Near side of the Moon, near side of Moon, Earth's Moon that served as the landing site for the United States, American Apollo 15 mission, the fourth crewed landing on the Moon and the first of the "List of Apol ...

region. 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 ...

stopped near the west rim of it in 1971, on 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 ...

mission, during EVA 1. Geology Station 3 was about 125 meters west of Rhysling, and a single piece of vesicular

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

was collected there
sample 15016
. The rock is sometimes called the ''

seatbelt basalt Lunar Sample 15016, better known as the "Seatbelt Basalt", is a Moon rock, lunar sample discovered and collected on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 in the Hadley-Apennine region of the Moon. The rock is a vesicular olivine basalt. It is so named ...

''. Rhysling is named for the blind poet Rhysling in Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “The Green Hills of Earth.” Rhysling is located less than 1 km east of Hadley Rille, less than 1 km northwest of

Earthlight ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a scie ...

crater, and about 2 km south of the Apollo 15 landing site itself, at

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

crater. The crater was named by the astronauts, and the name was formally adopted by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 1973.

External links

Apollo 15 Traverses
Lunar Photomap 41B4S4(25)

References

{{reflist Impact craters on the Moon