Lev
Contents
Lev (Luna 24 site craterlet name)
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Lat: 12.7°N, Long: 62.2°E, Diam: 0.06 km, Depth: ?, Rükl: 38 |
LROC GL060 (see below for more detailed images of the crater)
The location of the tiny craterlet Lev is southeast of the bowl-shaped crater Fahrenheit which is located near the south-southeastern part of the rim of Mare Crisium.
Because of that, Fahrenheit is a handy signpost to get the location of Lev.
Images
NAC image M1139497036RE, NAC image M111185087
- According to the IAU's and John Moore's data of crater Lev's location, the crater itself should be visible on a Hi-Res scan of Apollo 17's orbital panoramic ITEK-camera frame AS17-P-2659 (near the central part of that frame).
- - DannyCaes Apr 29, 2012
Maps
(LAC zone 62B1) LAC map Geologic map LM map LTO map LROC GL060 map
Description
The crater lies very close (southeast-wards) to where the Soviet Union’s LUNA 24 (Lunik 24) spacecraft (ascent stage) landed on the lunar surface on 18 August 1976. This was the Union’s third, and final, lunar sample retrievable mission - following on from its two previous LUNA missions: LUNA 16 and LUNA 20 respectively. Returning upto 156 grams in all, both LUNA 16 and LUNA 20 set precedence in to how LUNA 24 would behave; finally, ending up being the last Russian lunar mission to attain such a precious resource from the moon’s surface by any other country (as of writing – April 2012) on Earth. Its precious cargo - amounting to 170.1 grams - was safely delivered to Earth on 22 August 1976 in a remote region of western Siberia, Russia. These samples, more than likely, contain, in part, the constituent makeup of what Lev crater is all about. Many thanks to Chuck, and grateful appreciation to Jennifer Blue of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), for clarification in locating the crater’s exact position. - JohnMoore2
Wikipedia
Additional Information
- IAU page: Lev
- Left & middle-left images: LROC GL060
- Middle-right image: NAC image M1139497036RE
- Right image: NAC image M111185087 – all images credited to the LROC team of scientists working with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and its onboard cameras.
Nomenclature
- Russian male name of Hebrew origin
- This minor feature name was approved by the IAU on Mar 29, 2012.
LPOD Articles
LROC Articles
Mare Crisium: Failure then Success (March 2012)
Bibliography
Named Featues -- Prev: Leuschner -- Next: Levi-Civita
