Lander is a
lunar impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...
that is located just to the north-northeast of the prominent
Tsiolkovskiy, on the
far side of the
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 ...
.
Attached to the northeastern rim of Lander is Volkov J, which is joined with
Volkov to the north. Just to the southeast of Lander is
Patsaev. Lander cannot be seen directly from the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, and must be observed from
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
. This is a worn and eroded crater formation, with features that have become poorly defined and softened due to subsequent impacts and possibly some overlap of ejecta from Tsiolkovskiy and other sources. The inner rim is wider and has a gentler slope along the eastern side. The interior floor is relatively level, but contains some low rises. Only a few tiny craterlets dot the rim and interior of this formation.
Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Lander.
References
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External links
LTO-84D4 Volkov— L&PI
topographic map
In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...
Impact craters on the Moon