Malapert (crater)

Malapert
	Lunar Orbiter 4 image with north at top. Malapert Mountain is the bright peak near bottom center.
Coordinates	84°54′S12°54′E / 84.9°S 12.9°E
Diameter	69 km
Depth	Unknown
Colongitude	0° at sunrise
Eponym	Charles Malapert

Last updated March 03, 2024

Malapert is a lunar impact crater that lies near the south pole of the Moon, named for 17th century astronomer Charles Malapert.^[2] From the Earth this formation is viewed from the side, limiting the amount of detail that can be seen. The crater is also illuminated at very low angles, so that parts of the interior remain in almost constant darkness. The nearest craters of note are Cabeus to the west, and Shoemaker to the south-southeast and nearer to the south pole of the Moon.

The southwestern part of the rim forms part of a 5-km-high rise in the surface that has been unofficially designated Malapert Mountain. This ridge appears wider along a line running roughly east–west, although details of the back side are hidden by shadows. The peak of this ridge lies almost exactly along 0° longitude, and it has the unusual attribute of lying within sight of both the Earth and the crater Shackleton at the south pole.

Mission concepts and plans

Due to the location of Malapert Mountain, it has been proposed as the site of a transmitter for an expedition to the south lunar pole.^[3] The back side of this ridge also lies within the radio shadow for transmissions from the Earth, and it has been suggested as a site for a radio telescope because the radio noise from Earth would be blocked.

In July 2013, private company Moon Express released details of a mission they were planning for no earlier than 2018. The mission would land two telescopes on the Moon, with the preferred location of Malapert crater, to take advantage of the benefits previously identified by lunar researchers Burton Sharpe and David Schrunk.^[3] The equipment would include both a 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) radio telescope as well as an optical telescope.^[4] This is the specific mission design of the mission first announced publicly the previous year, in collaboration with the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA).^[5] As of February 2024 no such mission has yet flown.

Intuitive Machines 1 mission

The Nova-C lunar lander Odysseus, used for the IM-1 mission, landed near Malapert-A in February 2024.

The Malapert-A crater area 300 km (190 mi) from the lunar south pole was chosen because it appeared to be a relatively flat and safe place near the pole to land, amongst other considerations.^[6]^[7]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Malapert.

Malapert	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	80.4° S	3.4° W	24 km
B	79.1° S	2.4° W	37 km
C	81.5° S	10.5° E	40 km
E	84.3° S	21.2° E	17 km
F	81.5° S	14.9° E	11 km
K	78.8° S	6.8° E	36 km

Images

At a Space Resources Roundtable co-sponsored by the Lunar and Planetary Institute a presentation by B. L. Cooper underscored the difficulty of imaging terrain illuminated by high-incidence-angle light.^[8] Nonetheless, the images in her presentation show the Malapert Mountain area well.

In popular culture

In the 1970s British science fiction series Space: 1999 , the location of Moonbase Alpha is Malapert Crater.^[9]

The International Lunar Observatory (ILO-1) is a lunar-based optical telescope that will be launched after 2022, and will land on the Malapert Mountain ridge.^[10]^[11]

Related Research Articles

Amundsen is a large lunar impact crater located near the south pole of the Moon, named after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It lies along the southern lunar limb, and so is viewed from the side by an observer on the Earth. To the northwest is the crater Scott, a formation of similar dimensions that is named for another Antarctic explorer. Nobile is attached to the western rim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alder (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Alder is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It is located in the South Pole-Aitken basin, and lies to the southeast of the crater Von Kármán. Southeast of Alder is Bose, and to the south-southwest lies Boyle.

Bullialdus is a lunar impact crater located in the western part of the Mare Nubium. It was named after French astronomer Ismaël Boulliau. To the north by north-west is the broken-rimmed and lava-flooded crater Lubiniezky. South-west of Bullialdus lies the smaller crater König.

Plato is a lava-filled lunar impact crater on the Moon. Its diameter is 101 km. It was named after ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is located on the northeastern shore of the Mare Imbrium, at the western extremity of the Montes Alpes mountain range. In the mare to the south are several rises collectively named the Montes Teneriffe. To the north lies the wide stretch of the Mare Frigoris. East of the crater, among the Montes Alpes, are several rilles collectively named the Rimae Plato.

Zeeman is a lunar impact crater located on the far side of the Moon near its south pole. It is not directly visible from the Earth. To the northwest of Zeeman lies the crater Numerov. Southeast of the rim is the crater Ashbrook.

Aitken is a large lunar impact crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, named for Robert Grant Aitken, an American astronomer specializing in binary stellar systems. It is located to the southeast of the crater Heaviside, and north of the unusual formation Van de Graaff. Attached to the southwest rim is Vertregt. To the southeast is the smaller Bergstrand.

Shackleton is an impact crater that lies at the lunar south pole. The peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, while the interior is perpetually in shadow. The low-temperature interior of this crater functions as a cold trap that may capture and freeze volatiles shed during comet impacts on the Moon. Measurements by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed higher than normal amounts of hydrogen within the crater, which may indicate the presence of water ice. The crater is named after Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Alhazen is a lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon's near side. Just to the south-southeast is the crater Hansen, and to the west is the Mare Crisium. The rim of Alhazen is nearly circular, but appears highly oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. The inner walls and the crater floor are rugged and irregular. A low ridge joins the south rim of Alhazen with the nearby Hansen. The crater is named after the Arab Muslim scientist, Ibn al-Haytham.

Atwood is a small earth moon impact crater that is located on the Mare Fecunditatis, to the northwest of the prominent crater Langrenus. It forms a triple-crater formation with Naonobu attached to the north rim and Bilharz near the west rim.

Sylvester is a lunar impact crater that is located near the north pole of the Moon, along the northern limb in the libration zone. It lies just to the south-southeast of the craters Grignard and Hermite; the latter of which is within one crater diameter of the pole. South of Sylvester is Pascal. Due to its location, Sylvester receives sunlight at only a low angle.

Cabeus is a lunar impact crater that is located about 100 km (62 mi) from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit. Through a telescope, this crater appears near the southern limb of the Moon, to the west of the crater Malapert and to the south-southwest of Newton.

Gilbert is a large lunar impact crater that lies near the eastern limb of the Moon. Due to its location this feature appears foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, limiting the amount of detail that can be observed. The crater lies to the northwest of the similar-sized walled plain Kästner, to the west of the Mare Smythii.

Drygalski is a large lunar impact crater that lies along the southern limb of the Moon. It partly overlies the crater Ashbrook to the west on the far side of the Moon. Just to the north of Drygalski is the smaller Boltzmann. The location of this crater restricts its observation from the Earth, and even under conditions of favorable libration it is viewed from the edge. It is only illuminated by the Sun at an oblique angle, and it lies close to the south polar craters that are permanently shielded from sunlight.

A peak of eternal light (PEL) is a hypothetical point on the surface of an astronomical body that is always in sunlight. Such a peak must have high latitude, high elevation, and be on a body with very small axial tilt. The existence of such peaks was first postulated by Beer and Mädler in 1837. The pair said about the lunar polar mountains: "...many of these peaks have eternal sunshine". These polar peaks were later mentioned by Camille Flammarion in 1879, who speculated that there may exist pics de lumière éternelle at the poles of the Moon. PELs would be advantageous for space exploration and colonization due to the ability of an electrical device located there to receive solar power regardless of the time of day or day of the year, and the relatively stable temperature range.

Planck is a large lunar impact crater, approximately 319 kilometers in diameter, that is located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon, on the far side as seen from the Earth. It lies to the west of the walled plain Poincaré, another enormous formation only slightly larger than Planck. Lying across the southeast rim of Planck is the crater Prandtl, to the northeast is Hildegard, and to the west is Fechner. Planck is located within the South Pole–Aitken basin.

De Sitter is a lunar impact crater that is located near the northern limb of the Moon, to the north of the Baillaud–Euctemon crater pair. Due to its location, this crater appears very foreshortened when viewed from the Earth, limiting the detail that can be viewed. The crater also receives sunlight at a low angle, when it is on the sunlit side.

Faustini is a lunar impact crater that lies near the south pole of the Moon. It is located nearly due south of the much larger crater Amundsen, and is almost attached to Shoemaker to the southwest. About one crater diameter due south is the smaller crater Shackleton at the south pole. A small crater is attached to the eastern rim of Faustini.

Comrie is a lunar impact crater. It is located on the rugged far side of the Moon relative to the Earth, beyond the western limb. Nearby craters of note include Ohm to the south-southwest, Shternberg to the southwest, and Parenago to the northeast.

Douglass is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the southwest of the crater Frost and south-southwest of the large walled plain Landau.

Laue is a lunar impact crater that lies across the south-southwestern rim and interior floor of the huge walled plain Lorentz. This feature is located on the Moon's far side, just beyond the west-northwestern limb. Under conditions of favorable libration and illumination from the Sun, this area can be seen at a very oblique angle from the Earth.

References

↑ Malapert, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
↑ "Malapert - the Moon".
1 2 David, Leonard (March 26, 2002). "The Moon's Malapert Mountain Seen As Ideal Site for Lunar Lab". space.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
↑ Mann, Adam (2013-07-18). "The Private Plan to Put a Telescope on the Moon". Wired. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
↑ Sutherland, Paul. "Moon Express to fly lunar telescope". Sen.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
↑ Intuitive Machines Lunar Landing Site Moves to South Pole Archived February 22, 2024, at the Wayback Machine NASA.gov. May 25, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
↑ Foust, Jeff (February 7, 2023). "Intuitive Machines moves landing site of first mission to lunar south pole". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
↑ Cooper, B. L. (2006). "Craters and Channels on Malapert Mountain in the Lunar South Pole Region: Challenges Associated with High-Incidence-Angle Imagery" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-08-28.
↑ Moonbase Alpha Operational Guide http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/maog/maog4.html. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
↑ Internatioinal Lunar Observatory to offer a new astrophysical perspective. Spaceflight Insider. Tonasz Nowakowski. 12 August 2017.
↑ International Lunar Observatory to be Established at Moon's South Pole in 2019 Archived 2018-03-20 at the Wayback Machine . Moon Express- Press Release. 21 July 2017.

Burton L. Sharpe & David G. Schrunk. "Malapert Mountain Revisited". Proceedings of Space 2002: The Eighth International Conference And Exposition On Engineering, Construction, Operations, And Business In Space. pp. 129–135.

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

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[1] Malapert, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)

[2] "Malapert - the Moon".

[David_2002-3] 1 2 David, Leonard (March 26, 2002). "The Moon's Malapert Mountain Seen As Ideal Site for Lunar Lab". space.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2015-07-09.

[wired20130718-4] Mann, Adam (2013-07-18). "The Private Plan to Put a Telescope on the Moon". Wired. Retrieved 2013-07-21.

[5] Sutherland, Paul. "Moon Express to fly lunar telescope". Sen.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

[IM-1_landing_site_selection-6] Intuitive Machines Lunar Landing Site Moves to South Pole Archived February 22, 2024, at the Wayback Machine NASA.gov. May 25, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2024.

[7] Foust, Jeff (February 7, 2023). "Intuitive Machines moves landing site of first mission to lunar south pole". SpaceNews . Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2023.

[Cooper_2006-8] Cooper, B. L. (2006). "Craters and Channels on Malapert Mountain in the Lunar South Pole Region: Challenges Associated with High-Incidence-Angle Imagery" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-08-28.

[9] Moonbase Alpha Operational Guide http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/maog/maog4.html. Retrieved 2015-03-21.

[Nowakowski_2017-10] Internatioinal Lunar Observatory to offer a new astrophysical perspective. Spaceflight Insider. Tonasz Nowakowski. 12 August 2017.

[MEx_announcement-11] International Lunar Observatory to be Established at Moon's South Pole in 2019 Archived 2018-03-20 at the Wayback Machine . Moon Express- Press Release. 21 July 2017.

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