Informal names and descriptions of lunar topographic features in Apollo 15 landing regio

Head, J. W.

English

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date	 July 16, 1971
to Distribution
from	 J. W. Head
subject Informal Names for Surface
Features in the Apollo 15
Landing Area - Case 340
s
EMIci mm
955 L'Enfant Plaza North. S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20024
B71 07022
MEMORANDUM FOR FILE
A series of informal names has been assigned to
surface features in the vicinity of the Apollo 15 landing
site (Figure 1). These names were chosen by the Apollo 15
crew members prior to June 26, 1971, to provide more easily
recognizable named landmarks along traverse routes and in
areas such as the Apennine Front and Hadley Rille where
extensive verbal descriptions will be made. It is hoped
that the names will aid in real-time location of the crew
and analysis of their descriptions.
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iINFORMAL NAMES FOR SURFACE FEATURES IN THE
APOLLO 15 LANDING AREA
Alligator Chain - Chain of craters resembling an alligator.
Apennine Front - Part of the Apennine Mountain Range.
Arbeit - German for toil or work; a crater near a complex
station.
Arrowhead - Several craters forming an arrowhead pointing north
from the South Cluster.
Blinky - Astronaut nickname.
Brandy - Named for the liquor.
Bridge - Crater in Rima Hadley; the rim appears to form a
bridge across the rille.
Canyon - Crater at edge of Hadley "canyon".
Chain - Named for the chain of craters (rio) leading away from
the southern rim of the crater.
Cliff - Crater located on edge of Rima Hadley.
Contact - A crater located on the geologic contact between the
Apennine Front and the mare.
Contour - A crater high up on the Apennine Front located on
the contours of the topographic map.
Crescent - A half-moon shaped crater in the South Cluster.
Crook - Crater located at crook in elbow.
Crystal - Crater named for geology term "crystal".
Dandelion - Crater named for a R. Bradbury novel "Dandelion
Wine".
Diamond - A small crater on the edge of Ring crater.
Distant - Crater located on the far side of the rille.
Dome - Geologic term often a?plied to volcanic structures.
i- 2 -
Domingo - Spanish for Sunday, the day this EVA traverse will
take place.
Dune - Crater named for the classic science fiction novel
by Frank Herbert; also for a dune-like structure
on the southeast rim of the crater.
Durins Bridge - Place name from the "Lord of the Rings"
trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Eaglecrest - Named for high area in the North Complex.
Earthlight - a crater named for an Arthur C. Clarke novel
of the same name.
Elbow - Crater and area at bend in Rima Hadley resembling an
elbow.
Epic - Signifying the journey to the moon.
Exupery - From "The Little Prince," a story about a little prince
who came from asteroid B-612 (Antoine de Saint-ExuQerv).
Fan - Crater located at the front of a geologic feature
mapped as a possible ancient flow, slide, or
debris fan deposit.
Fifty-one - The year Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin graduated
from the U. S. Naval Academy.
Fifty-four - The year Apollo 15 Commander David R. Scott
graduated from the U. S. Military Academy.
Fifty-five - The year Command Module Pilot Al Worden graduated
from the U. S. Military Academy.
Flow - Crater located on a geologi7 feature mapped as a possible
ancient flow or slide deposit.
Front - Large crater located along base of Apennine Front.
Gateway - This crater is on the traverse route leading to the
North Complex, at the "gateway".
Ghostbead - Named for a musical composition.
High - A crater high up on the Apennine Front.
Icarus - Crater named for character in Greek mythology. Icarus
with Daedalus, escaped from the Cretan labyrinth by
building wings with feathers and wax.
•- 3 -
Index - A prominant crater near the landing site serving as
a landmark from orbit and upon landing.
Kimbal - For Kimbal Kennison, a hero of E. E. Smith's Lensman
series, a set of science fiction novels about the
galactic patrol; written in the 1930's.
Last - One of the last craters at the end of the last traverse.
Lightning - Named for the fact that lightning struck the
spacecraft on the launch pad numerous times prior
to launch.
Link - A crater linking Chain crater to Rio.
Lonely - Single crater on opposite wall of Rima Hadley.
Luke - Biblical character.
Lundi - Monday in French; this EVA should take place on
Monday, August 2.
Mark - Biblical character.
Matthew - Biblical character.
Misty Doublet - from Misty Mountains, place name from the
"Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Nameless - Prominant crater with no name.
North Complex - Complex of hills, craters, scarps, and
apparent flow fronts to the north of the
landing site.
North Twin - One of a pair of craters at edge of Rima Hadley.
November - Late in the last traverse, a late month in the year.
Offset - Elongate crater slightly offset from base of Apennine
Front.
Orville - The Wright Brothers.
Os - Large crater on far side of Rima Hadley named for first
letters of "other side".
Pitane - A crater in the secondary crater cluster. The material
which produced these secondary craters is thought
to have been derived from the crater Autolycus,
to the north. Pitane was the city in Asia Minor
in which Autolycus worked about 310 B.C.
i- 4 -
P.luton - Geologic term for a large body of rock which has
crystallized deep under the surface.
Pooh -- Winnie the Pooh and Poo, a computer program that places the
CSM and LM flight computers in readiness for most of the
other flight programs; near the beginning of first traverse.
Quadrant - Named for the seaman's reflecting quadrant, a
precursor of the modern sextant. This quadrant
was invented by John Hadley (1682-1744) for whom
Hadley Rille is named.
Quark - Name applied to a three crater complex; the name of
a hypothetical subatomic particle, coined by
Murray Gell-Mann, Cal Tech Nobel Laureate.
Rhysling - A crater named for Rhysling, the blind poet
of "The Green Hills of Earth" a science fiction
story of Robert Heinlein.
Ridge - Crater located on a slight topographic rise.
Rim - Crater at the rim of Rima Hadley.
Ring - A ring-shaped crater.
Rio - River, for the chain-like channel leading south from
Chain Crater.
Salyut - Crater named for the Russian space station.
Samstag - German for Saturday, the day this EVA traverse will
take place.
Scarp - Crater located near small scarp at rille edge.
Side - Small crater located on the side of Pluton.
Slide - Crater located near a geologic feature mapped as a
possible ancient flow or slide deposit.
South Cluster - A cluster of secondary craters located to the
south of the landing site.
South Twin - One of a pair of craters at edge of Rima Hadley.
Spur - Crater located on a small spur of the Apennine Front.
St. George - A type of wine with which the crew members
celebrated a successful launch in Jules Verne's
"From the Earth to the Moon".
- 5 -
Tecumseh - Named in honor of the U. S. Naval Academy.
The Plain - A flat area of mare.
The Terrace - Slight projection of mare out into Rima
Hadley.
Trophy Point - Named for the point of land which protrudes
into the Hudson River at West Point.
Uttermost West - Place name from the "Lord of the Rings"
trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Wilbur - The Wright Brothers.
Window - A crater which may provide a "window" through
to the material below the surface of the Apennine
Front.
fI
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Informal names for surface features in the Apollo 15 landing area

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