Geological Chronicle
Located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon, Landau is a large impact crater spanning 218.15 kilometers across. The formation dates to the Pre-Nectarian period of the lunar geologic timescale. It lies at the approximate margin of the Coulomb-Sarton Basin, a 530-kilometer-wide impact crater of Pre-Nectarian age.
The outer rim of Landau is heavily eroded and modified by subsequent impacts. The crater Wood overlays the northwest rim, while Wegener is attached to the northeast and Frost joins the southeast. The southwest rim is the most intact section, though reduced to a low ridge line. Inside, the floor is mostly hilly and irregular, broken by small craters and craterlets, with only the northeast quadrant remaining somewhat level. Infrared spectral data have identified pure crystalline plagioclase across the central and southeast floor as well as the east rim.
Prior to formal naming by the International Astronomical Union in 1970, the feature was designated as Crater 97. It was named in honor of Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate Lev Landau.