A Traverse Landmark on the Floor of Taurus-Littrow

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

landing

Coordinates

20.25° N · 30.84° E

Diameter

0.56 km

IAU approval

1973/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-43 · Macrobius

Geological Chronicle

Cochise is a 0.56-kilometer crater in the Taurus-Littrow valley on Earth's Moon. Located at 20.2501° N latitude and 30.8429° E longitude in the Macrobius quadrangle, the feature is bounded by several landmarks. Shakespeare and Van Serg craters lie to its southwest, while Bowen crater and Geology Station 8 at the base of the Sculptured Hills are located to the northeast.

Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed southwest of the crater in 1972 on the Apollo 17 mission. They named the feature after Cochise, Chief of the Chiricahua Apache. During their third extravehicular activity, Cernan and Schmitt drove along the rim of Cochise in the rover but did not stop.

Chronology & Exploration

1. 1972 Apollo 17 traverse

   Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt land southwest of Cochise crater and drive along its rim during EVA 3.

Scientific Sources & References

• Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature — USGS IAU feature record
• Wikipedia — English Wikipedia entry for Cochise crater

Name Origin

Astronaut-named feature, Apollo 17 site.