South Ray crater is a small crater in the

Descartes Highlands The Descartes Highlands is an area of lunar highlands located on the near side that served as the landing site of the American Apollo 16 mission in early 1972. The Descartes Highlands is located in the area surrounding Descartes crater, after whi ...

of the Moon photographed from the lunar surface by the astronauts of

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's " J missions", with an extended sta ...

. The name of the crater 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. The Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) ''Orion'' landed between North Ray and South Ray craters on April 21, 1972. The astronauts

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

and

Charles Duke Charles Moss Duke Jr. (born October 3, 1935) is an American former astronaut, United States Air Force (USAF) officer and test pilot. As Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon, at ...

explored the area between the craters over the course of three EVAs using a Lunar Roving Vehicle, or rover. They came closest to South Ray on EVA 2, at station 4 ( Cinco crater), about 3.9 km south of the landing site. Duke photographed South Ray from there with a 500-mm lens. South Ray crater contour map p115a

South Ray crater is approximately 700 m in diameter and approximately 120 m deep, with a bright system of

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

of ejecta. The astronauts observed that the ejecta of South Ray was very bouldery, and reported that it would have been difficult or impossible to drive there on their rover.Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report
(NASA SP-315), 1972 South Ray cuts into the Cayley Formation of

Imbrian The Imbrian is a lunar geologic period divided into two epochs, the Early and Late. Early Imbrian In the lunar geologic timescale, the Early Imbrian epoch occurred from 3,850 million years ago to about 3,800 million years ago. It overlaps the end ...

age.Geologic Map of the Apollo 16 (Descartes) Landing Area
by Apollo Field Geology Investigation Team (D. P. Elston, E. L. Boudette, J. P. Schafer),

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, April 1972 The crater itself is much younger ( Copernican).

External links

Apollo 16 Traverses
NASA Lunar Photomap 78D2S2(25)
John Young at South Ray Crater
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Posted by David Portree on July 05, 2018

References

{{reflist Apollo 16 Impact craters on the Moon