Landing Humans on the Moon

Directions: Mark your chosen lunar outpost location. On the Moon Matrix sheet, list the reasons why your team selected this site.

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Water and Other Resources

• Contains volatile compounds such as methane, ammonia, and hydrogen gas
• Metals such as sodium, mercury, and silver can also be found here

Topography Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of

the northern rim of Cabeus. (NASA)

• Flat floor with gentle slopes and an absence of large boulders

• Significant areas of permanent shadows
• Diameter: 100 km
• Depth: 4 km
• Shadowed area: 900 km2

Temperature
• Extremely cold temperatures that range from 41 to 50 K
Cabeus region showing the highest concentrations of
General Science hydrogen depicted in orange. (NASA)

• Concentrations of hydrogen detected by NASA’s Lunar Prospector

spacecraft
• 5.6 percent of the total mass inside Cabeus is water ice
• Centaur rocket impact site for the Lunar CRater Observation and
Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment

Illumination
• Cabeus is illuminated 1/4 of the Moon’s day

Special Considerations
• A significant portion of the crater’s floor is permanently shadowed
• Crater contains water ice and dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide)
Temperature map of lunar South Pole showing impact site of
• Can be seen from Earth Centaur rocket for Lunar CRater Observation and
• The compounds that exist in the crater are the same as those in icy Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment. (NASA)

comets

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) visible

light camera from altitude of approximately 770 km. (NASA)

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Haworth

Water and Other Resources

• Water­equivalent hydrogen is 0.15 percent
Moon Trek image
Topography of Haworth. (NASA)

• Diameter: 52 km
• Lunar mountains are called massifs. There is
a massif named Mons Malapert right next to
Haworth. The elevation difference between
them is close to the height of Mt. Everest!

Temperature Elevation of Haworth in meters.

(Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas)
Topography shows a change in elevation
• Extremely cold temperatures that rarely that exceeds 8 km. (NASA)
exceed 40 K

General Science
• Low hydrogen content
• Large areas of crater are permanently shadowed
• The only way this crater has been explored is by orbital imaging
radar

Illumination
• Nearly always in permanent shadow; not visible from Earth

Special Considerations
• This crater has a large amount of surface frost.
• The map below shows the slope of various craters, including
Haworth. Average temperature of the Haworth crater area in kelvin (K).
(Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas)

Haworth

Image showing degrees of slope of Haworth and other craters. (NASA) Closeup image of Haworth from
Moon Trek application. (NASA)

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Water and Other Resources

• Enriched iron content
• High hydrogen concentrations
Lunar South Pole visualization using
Topography Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data. (NASA)

• A 5­km­high mountain with a long, flat plain at its base

• Slope range is from 6° to 30°

Temperature
• Average temperature is 175 K

General Science
• Located near other permanently shadowed regions
• Located on rim of South Pole–Aitken basin, Moon’s largest impact basin
(diameter = 2,500 km); several craters in this basin may contain deposits
of water ice Average temperature (T) for Mons Malapert
in kelvin (K). (NASA)

Image of region surrounding Mons Malapert. (NASA)

Image depicting elevation of the Malapert region. (NASA)

Illumination
• Receives full or partial sunlight 93 percent of the lunar year

Special Considerations
• Nearby craters like Shackleton
• Mons Malapert can be seen from Earth
• Exceptional visibility of Earth from peak
Five peaks near the lunar South Pole, visible in silhouette. (NASA)

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Water and Other Resources

• Floors of the crater are considerably brighter than surrounding craters, indicating small amounts
of reflective ice
• Up to 22 percent of the floor may be ice Visualization of Shackleton in
natural color. (NASA)

Topography
• In near darkness most of the year
• Rim of the crater spans 21 km across
• Interior measures over 4 km to the floor and
remains in permanent shadow
• Elevated ridges

Temperature
• Relatively high temperatures (80 to 110 K) Shackleton crater versus the Grand Canyon. (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas)

General Science
• Explain why the walls of the crater are brighter than the floor.
• The crater is a cold trap that may have collected and stored volatile compounds.

Illumination
• Craters walls are illuminated.
• Rim receives sunlight for half the year.
• Some areas are illuminated 90 percent of the time.
• No areas are permanently illuminated.

Special Considerations
• Crater walls are too steep for rovers
• Remains relatively unchanged since it was formed 3 billion years ago
• No direct visibility to Earth
• Areas near Shackleton crater are bathed in sunlight Sun visibility map depicting number of days the
Sun is visible for the Shackleton crater. (NASA)

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Water and Other Resources

• High abundance of hydrogen
• Water­equivalent hydrogen is 0.15 percent
• Floor of the crater shows no evidence of ice

Topography Portion of Shoemaker crater. (NASA)

• Diameter: 51 km
• Located between Faustini crater and an unnamed crater
• Intact rim with numerous craters
• Highlands terrain

Temperature
• Below 95 K
• Floor forms a cold trap

General Science
• Topographic line of sight to Earth: 0.56 km
• 1999 Lunar Prospector mission crashed into Shoemaker to release Average temperature (T) for Shoemaker
crater in kelvin (K). (NASA)
trapped water vapor, but none was detected

Illumination
• Floor is kept in total darkness from the Sun
• Shadowed area: 1,175 km2

Special Considerations
• Inner walls highly eroded due to erosion
• Floor of Shoemaker is flat

Sun visibility map depicting the number of days the

Sun is visible for the Shoemaker crater. (NASA)

Elevation map of Shackleton crater with blue

indicating lowest area and red/white indicating
highest. (NASA/Zuber, M.T. et al.)

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The Moon

The dark area

The light area

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Orientale

The dark area

The light area

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Apollo 15 Landing Site

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Alphonsus

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Tycho

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Mare Imbrium

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Ocean of Storms

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Copernicus

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