Geological Chronicle
Fersman is a large lunar impact crater on the Moon’s far side. Poynting lies to its east, Weyl to the west-northwest, and the huge walled plain Hertzsprung to the south. Fersman has a worn, low outer rim. It is named for Aleksandr Yevgenyevich, a Soviet geochemist.
Ejecta deposits mark the southeast rim and eastern interior floor, trending from southeast to northwest. A nearly linear series of small craters starts southeast of Fersman and continues about 100 km northwest of the crater. The chain breaks across the interior floor, then resumes near the northern rim.
Several small craters lie across the interior floor, including a group south of the midpoint. The rim has an outward bulge along the southeast side and irregular edges to the north and south. A small crater lies along the western inner wall.
During the crewed Artemis II mission in April 2026, Fersman and its surroundings were seen by humans for the first time.