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Tsiolkovskiy (crater)
Encyclopedia
Tsiolkovskiy is a large lunar
impact crater
that is located on the far side of the Moon
. It lies in the southern hemisphere, to the west of the crater Gagarin
, and northwest of Milne
. Just to the south is Waterman
, with Neujmin
to the south-southwest. This feature was discovered on photographs sent back by Luna 3
. Apollo 17
Astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt
and other scientists (Schmitt was the only trained scientist, a geologist, to walk on the moon) strongly advocated Tsiolkovskiy as the Apollo 17's, or a later flight's (which were all canceled), landing site, using small communications satellites deployed from the Command/Service Module for communication from the far side of the moon. NASA
vetoed the idea as too risky, and Apollo 17 instead landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972.
This is one of the most prominent features to be found on that hemisphere. It possesses high, terraced inner walls and a well-formed central peak. The floor is unusual for a crater on the far side, as it is covered by the dark-hued mare
that is characteristic of the maria found on the near side. The distribution of the mare material is not symmetrical across the floor, but is instead more heavily concentrated to the east and south. There is also a protruding bay of darker material that reaches the wall to the west-northwest. The remainder of the floor has the same albedo
as the terrain surrounding the crater.
The crater protrudes into the neighbouring Fermi
, a comparably sized formation that does not have a lava
-flooded floor.
s show portions of the Tsiolkovskiy crater:
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...
impact 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 on the far side 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...
. It lies in the southern hemisphere, to the west of the crater Gagarin
Gagarin (crater)
Gagarin is a large lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. To the southwest is the crater Pavlov and to the northeast lies Keeler. Closer to the rim are the craters Levi-Civita to the southwest, and Beijerinck to the north-northeast. Isaev lies...
, and northwest of Milne
Milne (crater)
Milne is a large lunar crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, named after the British mathematician and astrophysicist Edward Arthur Milne...
. Just to the south is Waterman
Waterman (crater)
Waterman is a lunar crater that is located on the Moon's far side, and cannot be viewed directly from the Earth. It lies along the southern outer ramparts of the prominent crater Tsiolkovskiy...
, with Neujmin
Neujmin (crater)
Neujmin is a lunar crater on the Moon's far side. It is nearly attached to the west-southwest of the smaller crater Waterman, and lies to the southwest of the prominent Tsiolkovskiy....
to the south-southwest. This feature was discovered on photographs sent back by Luna 3
Luna 3
The Soviet space probe Luna 3 of 1959 was the third space probe to be sent to the neighborhood of the Moon, and this mission was an early feat in the spaceborne exploration of outer space...
. 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...
Astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt
Harrison Schmitt
Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt is an American geologist, a retired NASA astronaut, university professor, and a former U.S. senator from New Mexico....
and other scientists (Schmitt was the only trained scientist, a geologist, to walk on the moon) strongly advocated Tsiolkovskiy as the Apollo 17's, or a later flight's (which were all canceled), landing site, using small communications satellites deployed from the Command/Service Module for communication from the far side of the moon. NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
vetoed the idea as too risky, and Apollo 17 instead landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972.
This is one of the most prominent features to be found on that hemisphere. It possesses high, terraced inner walls and a well-formed central peak. The floor is unusual for a crater on the far side, as it is covered by the dark-hued mare
Lunar mare
The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and...
that is characteristic of the maria found on the near side. The distribution of the mare material is not symmetrical across the floor, but is instead more heavily concentrated to the east and south. There is also a protruding bay of darker material that reaches the wall to the west-northwest. The remainder of the floor has the same albedo
Albedo
Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...
as the terrain surrounding the crater.
The crater protrudes into the neighbouring Fermi
Fermi (crater)
Fermi is a large lunar crater of the category named a walled plain. It lies on the far side of the Moon and can not be viewed from the Earth. Thus this feature must be viewed from an orbiting spacecraft....
, a comparably sized formation that does not have a 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...
-flooded floor.
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 Tsiolkovskiy.| Tsiolkovskiy | Latitude | Longitude | Diameter |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | 16.0° S | 126.9° E | 13 km |
| X | 14.7° S | 126.5° E | 12 km |
Trivia
- In the Fictional Mobile Suit GundamMobile Suit Gundamis a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
series, Tsiolkovskiy is the site of ZeonZeonIn the television anime Mobile Suit Gundam universe, Zeon can refer to the Republic of Zeon, the Principality of Zeon or Neo Zeon. It is also referred to as the Duchy of Zeon or the Zeon Dukedom...
Lunar Base Granada.
External links
The following L&PI topographic mapTopographic 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...
s show portions of the Tsiolkovskiy crater:
| Northern half | — LTO-101B2 Tsiolkovskij Borealis |
| Southern half | — LTO-101B3 Tsiolkovskij Australis |
| Northeast | — LTO-102A1 Patsaev |
| Southeast | — LTO-102A4 Fesnekov |