Geological Chronicle
Positioned along the southern limb of the Moon within a crater diameter of Shackleton, de Gerlache is seen from Earth from the edge and lies in perpetual darkness. Earth-based optical views show little or no detail beyond the edge of the rim, but Earth-based radar images reveal the feature clearly, with an IAU registry measurement of 32.71 kilometers in diameter and a depth of 7.5 kilometers.
The roughly circular crater shows slight wear and no major craters overlying its rim, though Matthew Henson joins the western rim and the small crater Marvin is attached to the south. Further south toward Shackleton lies a crater named after Paul Spudis. Arc-shaped features in the interior suggest past slope movement, and permanently shadowed pockets create cold traps where carbon dioxide ice can potentially remain without sublimating.
Jean-Luc Margot and Donald B. Campbell identified the formation and jointly proposed the name to the International Astronomical Union. The IAU adopted the name in 2000 to honor Belgian Antarctic explorer Adrien de Gerlache. In April 2023, the IAU named a smaller crater on the floor of de Gerlache after Canadian–American rocket and jet propulsion engineer Yvonne Brill.