Geological Chronicle
Mons Mouton is the tallest officially named mountain on the Moon, rising 6 kilometers from base to peak per altimetry data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Located within six degrees of the lunar South Pole between the craters Nobile and Malapert, the flat-topped mountain is just under 100 kilometers wide. The region contains permanently shadowed areas that may serve as cold traps for water, alongside nearby zones of extended solar illumination.
Mons Mouton is possibly a remnant of the rim of the South Pole–Aitken basin, one of the oldest, largest, and deepest impact craters in the Solar System. Taller unnamed mountains exist on the Moon's far side as part of the basin's rings, but Mons Mouton remains the tallest named peak. Previously referred to as Leibnitz Beta, the mountain was named on May 13, 2022 after American mathematician Melba Roy Mouton.
Mons Mouton has become a primary target for lunar polar exploration. The IM-2 Athena lander touched down at the site on March 6, 2025, but an altimeter failure caused the spacecraft to tip over and come to rest on its side inside a crater. The mountain is scheduled as the landing site for NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover in late 2027 and China's Chang'e 8 mission in 2029, while also being studied as a potential landing area for India's Chandrayaan-4 sample-return mission.