Slava (crater)

Slava
Map of the minor features that the rover Lunokhod-1 passed, Slava is to the mid-south of the photo
Coordinates 38°18′00″N 35°00′15″W / 38.3°N 35.0042°W / 38.3; -35.0042Coordinates: 38°18′00″N 35°00′15″W / 38.3°N 35.0042°W / 38.3; -35.0042
Diameter 100 m
Depth Unknown
Eponym Russian male name
LRO image

Slava is a tiny lunar craterlet located in the northwest part of the Mare Imbrium in the northwest of the lunar near side. The craterlet is located south of Igor and north-northwest of Nikolya and Vasya. Major features include Promontorium Heraclides located 30 km north and C. Herschel crater located about 150 km south-southeast.

Description

The crater is named after the dimunitive form of the Russian male name Vyacheslav, one of the 12 craterlet names in the area where Lunokhod 1 passed that were approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on June 14, 2012.[1]

About 250 metres north of the crater was the landing site of the Soviet lander Luna 17 which brought the robotic rover Lunokhod 1 onto the Moon on 14 September 1970. The location and the lander were founded in a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image on March 17, 2010 by Albert Abdrakhimov.[2][3] In April 2010, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) team from the University of California at San Diego used the LRO images to locate the orbiter closely enough for laser range (distance) measurements. On April 22, 2010 and days following, the team successfully measured the distance several times. The intersection of the spheres described by the measured distances then pinpoint the current location of Lunokhod 1 to within 1 meter.[4]

The lunar crossroad of the rover is east-southeast of the craterlet. After crossing, the rover went northward east of the craterlet after visiting the craterlets now Vasya and Nikolya and headed northwards near a craterlet now known as Igor.

Location

Slava is one of twelve named craters near the landing site, located in the northwest of Mare Imbrium

References

  1. ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Slava". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ Lakdawalla, Emily (March 17, 2010). "And now for Luna 17 and Lunokhod 1". Planetary Report.
  3. ↑ "LROC Observation M114185541R". Arizona State University.
  4. ↑ McDonald, Kim (April 26, 2010). "UC San Diego Physicists Locate Long Lost Soviet Reflector on Moon". UCSD. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  • Slava at The Moon Wiki
  • Old Moon Rover Beams Surprising Laser Flashes to Earth
  • "Lunokhod-1 traverse map (Landing site Luna 17)" (PDF). Moscow State University of Geodesy and cartography (MIIGAiK), German Aerospace Center (DLR). 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  • Wood, Chuck (June 16, 2012). "Overdue Names". Lunar Photo of the Day. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
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