Geological Chronicle
Maksutov is an impact crater spanning 83.84 kilometers in diameter on the Moon's far side, positioned south-southwest of the vast walled plain Oppenheimer. The crater Nishina lies to its southwest, while the conjoined formation of Davisson and Leibnitz sits to the west-northwest. Maksutov preserves a well-defined outer rim that shows little degradation from subsequent impact erosion.
The crater's defining characteristic is its flooded, nearly level floor, which displays the low albedo typical of basaltic lava. Its inner rim wall varies in thickness, tapering to its narrowest extent in the southeast while broadening along the northwestern and northeastern margins. Spectral data from the peak indicates an olivine-bearing gabbroic norite mineralogy originating from a crustal depth of 8.3 to 13.1 kilometers.
Before receiving its formal name from the International Astronomical Union in 1970, the structure was cataloged simply as Crater 439. It commemorates the Soviet optician Dmitrij Dmitrievich Maksutov.