Dune is a feature on Earth's

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin visited the south rim of it in 1971, on the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...

mission, during

EVA Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

2. The south rim of Dune was designated Geology Station 4 of the mission. Dune is located about 1.8 km east of Hadley Rille, less than 1 km south of the smaller

Earthlight ''Earthlight'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a novella of the same name that he had published four years earlier. Overview ''Earthlight'' is a scie ...

crater, and about 3 km south of the Apollo 15 landing site itself. The crater was named by the astronauts after the 1965 novel by

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

,''Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert'', by Brian Herbert, 2004, page 244. and the name was formally adopted by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

in 1973.

A15 PSR Fig 5-74 Planimetric map Station 4

Samples

The following samples were collected from Dune Crater (Station 4), as listed in Table 5-II of the ''Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report''. Sample type, lithology, and description are from Table 5-IV of the same volume. Samples 15470 to 15476 were collected near where the rover was parked to the south of the rim of Dune. Samples 15485, 15486, and 15499 were collected from the largest boulder in the photograph above. Sample 15498 was collected nearby.Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report, NASA SP-289. Prepared by NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, 1972.

External links

Apollo 15 Traverses
Lunar Photomap 41B4S4(25)

References

{{reflist Impact craters on the Moon