Geological Chronicle
Papaleksi is a roughly circular impact crater on the far side of the Moon, measuring 92.03 kilometers across. It lies along the northeastern outskirts of the large crater Mandel'shtam, about 20 kilometers south-southwest of the similar crater Spencer Jones. Its outer rim and inner walls have been worn down by erosion, losing much of their original sharp definition.
Near the midpoint lies a central ridge with an impact at its eastern end and a linear arrangement of small impacts to its south. A small crater lies along the edge of the northern inner wall, and only three small craters lie along the southwestern rim edge.
Prior to its formal naming by the IAU in 1970, the formation was designated Crater 221. The crater is named for Soviet physicist Nikolai Dmitrievich Papaleksi, who worked closely with Leonid Mandelstam.