Littrow is a lunar

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 crater

Impact crater

In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

 that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

's near side, on the east edge of Mare Serenitatis

Mare Serenitatis

Mare Serenitatis is a lunar mare that sits just to the east of Mare Imbrium on the Moon.It is located within the Serenitatis basin, which is of the Nectarian epoch. The material surrounding the mare is of the Lower Imbrian epoch, while the mare material is of the Upper Imbrian epoch...

. Some distance to the northeast is the prominent crater Römer

Römer (crater)

Römer is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Sinus Amoris in the northeast section of the Moon. It lies in the southwestern part of the mountainous region named the Montes Taurus. To the west-northwest is the crater-bay Le Monnier, on the eastern edge of Mare Serenitatis.The...

, while to the south is Vitruvius

Vitruvius (crater)

Vitruvius is a small lunar impact crater that lies on the northern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis. To the east is the crater Gardner, and to the northeast is Fabbroni. To the north-northwest is the elongated Mons Vitruvius mountain, and beyond is the valley where the Apollo 17 mission landed.The...

.

The rim of Littrow is heavily worn and eroded, especially along the southern wall. The interior has been flooded with lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 in the past, leaving a relatively smooth, featureless surface with no central rise.

Rimae Littrow

Just to the northwest of Littrow is a system of rille

Rille

Rille is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length...

s designated the Rimae Littrow. These are located at selenographic coordinates 22.1° N, 29.9° E, and have a maximum diameter of 115 km. To the south-southwest is the Taurus-Littrow valley that is notable for being the landing site of the Apollo 17

Apollo 17

Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final manned mission in the American Apollo space program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, with a three-member crew consisting of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 remains the...

 mission. Two tiny craters to the west of this site have been assigned names by the IAU

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

. These are listed below.

Crater	Longitude	Latitude	Diameter	Name source
Ching-Te Ching-Te (crater) Ching-Te is a tiny lunar impact crater located in a mountainous area to the east of the Mare Serenitatis. It is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with no distinguishing features. To the south-southeast is the crater Fabbroni, and to the northeast is Littrow...	20.0° N	30.0° W	4 km	Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...  masculine
Stella	19.9° N	29.8° W	1 km	Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...  feminine

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Littrow.

Littrow	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	22.2° N	32.2° E	23 km
D	23.7° N	32.8° E	8 km
F	22.0° N	34.1° E	12 km
P	23.2° N	32.8° E	36 km

The following craters have been renamed by the IAU

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

.

• Littrow B — See Clerke (crater)
  Clerke (crater)
  Clerke is a tiny lunar crater. It is located near the eastern edge of Mare Serenitatis in the midst of a rille system named the Rimae Littrow after the crater Littrow to the east. Clerke is roughly circular and cup-shaped, with a relatively high albedo...
  
  .

External links

• LTO-43D1 Littrow — L&PI topographic map
  Topographic map
  A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a variety of methods. Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and man-made features...