Rhysling Crater and Geology Station 3

Feature Profile & Selenographic Data

Feature type

landing

Coordinates

26.07° N · 3.62° E

Diameter

0.12 km

IAU approval

1973/01/01 00:00:00

LAC quadrangle

LAC-41 · Montes Apenninus

Geological Chronicle

Rhysling is a crater in the Hadley–Apennine region of the Moon, located less than 1 km east of Hadley Rille and about 2 km south of the Apollo 15 landing site at Last crater. During Extravehicular Activity 1 of the 1971 Apollo 15 mission, astronauts David Scott and James Irwin stopped near its west rim. Geology Station 3 was located about 125 meters west of the crater.

At Station 3, the crew collected lunar sample 15016, a single piece of vesicular basalt commonly known as the seatbelt basalt. Rhysling lies less than 1 km northwest of Earthlight crater.

The crater was named by the Apollo 15 astronauts after the blind poet Rhysling in Robert A. Heinlein's short story 'The Green Hills of Earth.' The International Astronomical Union formally adopted the name in 1973.

Chronology & Exploration

1. 1971 Apollo 15 EVA 1 Visit

   Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin visit the crater rim and establish Geology Station 3.

2. 1973 IAU Name Adoption

   The International Astronomical Union formally approves the feature name.

Scientific Sources & References

• IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature — Official feature entry and coordinates.
• Wikipedia: Rhysling (crater) — Apollo 15 sampling details and nomenclature origin.

Name Origin

Astronaut-named feature, Apollo 15 site.