Head (crater)

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Head
Head crater M114104917RC.jpg
LRO Narrow Angle Camera image
Coordinates 3°01′S23°26′W / 3.01°S 23.43°W / -3.01; -23.43
Diameter 120 m [1]
Eponym Astronaut-named feature

Head crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. [1]

Contents

Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed the Lunar Module (LM) Intrepid northeast of Head crater on November 19, 1969. To the east of Head is the larger Surveyor crater. To the southwest are Bench crater and Sharp crater (now called Sharp-Apollo). To the northwest of Head is the larger crater Middle Crescent.

It is called Head because the pattern of craters in the area resembles that of a snowman (with Surveyor crater forming the body) when viewed from the east, as in the landing approach.

Head crater from the surface. Head crater AS12-49-7213-7214-7215.jpg
Head crater from the surface.

Samples

Lunar sample 12055, a pigeonite basalt, was collected on the north rim of Head crater. [2] The crew dug a small trench about 15 m inside the northwest rim of Head crater. Soil samples 12033 and 12034 were collected from it. 12033 is a ropy glass sample that has been suggested came from Copernicus crater and may represent material from the Fra Mauro formation. [3] Sample 12034 is regolith breccia. Its composition does not match the other regolith samples from the site and is presumed to have a distant origin. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mare Cognitum</span> Feature on the moon

Mare Cognitum is a lunar mare located in a basin or large crater which sits in the second ring of Oceanus Procellarum. To the northwest of the mare is the Montes Riphaeus mountain range, part of the rim of the buried crater or basin containing the mare. Previously unnamed, the mare received its name in 1964 in reference to its selection as the target for the successful impact probe Ranger 7, the first American spacecraft to return closeup images of the Moon's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyginus (crater)</span> Volcanic formation on the Moon

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

Lansberg is a lunar impact crater on the Mare Insularum. It can be located by following a line south-southwest from Copernicus to Reinhold, then southwest to Lansberg. The crater has a high rim and a central mountain. There are terraces along the inner walls, and the tops have slumped to produce a sharp edge. This formation is not noticeably eroded, and there are no significant impact craters within the interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ina (crater)</span> Unusual small depression on the Moon

Ina is a peculiar small depression on the Moon, in Lacus Felicitatis. It is D-shaped, 2.9 km × 1.9 km wide and 64 m deep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shorty (crater)</span> Lunar crater

Shorty is a feature on Earth's Moon, an impact crater in the Taurus–Littrow valley. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited it in 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission. It is the location of the famous "orange soil", which geologists believe to be small bits of rapidly-cooled molten rock ejected in a fire fountain. It is about 110 meters in diameter and up to 14 m (15 yd) deep.

Shorty Crater is about 14 m deep. Based on our investigations at the site and later examination of photographs, the impact that formed it penetrated, in order, regolith on the avalanche deposit, the avalanche deposit, regolith on a basalt flow, a basalt flow overlying and protecting the orange and black glass layers, the orange and black glass layers, regolith on a second basalt flow, and, finally, the upper portion of that second flow. Orange and black glass clods and basalt boulders are spread throughout the ejecta blanket surrounding Shorty.

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

North Ray crater is a small crater in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon visited by the astronauts of Apollo 16. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. It is the largest crater sampled by astronauts during the Apollo program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camelot (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Camelot is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in Taurus-Littrow valley. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited it in 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission, during EVA 2. Geology Station 5 was along the south rim of Camelot.

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

Victory is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in Taurus–Littrow valley. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited it in 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission, during EVA 2. The astronauts stopped at the south rim of Victory on their way back to the Lunar Module from Shorty crater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spur (lunar crater)</span> Surface depression on the Moon

Spur is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin visited it in 1971, on the Apollo 15 mission, during EVA 2. Spur was designated Geology Station 7.

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

Dune is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin visited the south rim of it in 1971, on the Apollo 15 mission, during EVA 2. The south rim of Dune was designated Geology Station 4 of the mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag (crater)</span> Lunar crater explored on Apollo 16

Flag crater is a small crater in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon visited by the astronauts of Apollo 16. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. Geology Station 1 is adjacent to Flag, at the much smaller Plum crater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spook (crater)</span> Lunar crater explored on Apollo 16

Spook crater is a small crater in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon visited by the astronauts of Apollo 16. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. Geology Station 2 is adjacent to Spook, between it and the smaller, younger crater called Buster to the north of it.

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

Elbow is a feature on Earth's Moon, a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin visited the east rim of it in 1971, on the Apollo 15 mission, during EVA 1. The east rim of Elbow was designated Geology Station 1 of the mission. Geology Station 2 was to the southwest of the crater, up the slope of Mons Hadley Delta.

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

Surveyor crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

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

Bench crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

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

Sharp-Apollo crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

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

Halo crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

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

Cone crater is a small crater in the Fra Mauro highlands, north of Fra Mauro crater, on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

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

Middle Crescent crater is a small crater in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.

References

  1. 1 2 Head, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  2. 12055, Lunar Samples, Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  3. 12033, Lunar Samples, Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  4. 12034, Lunar Samples, Lunar and Planetary Institute.