PIA12987: Two-toned Impact Crater in Balmer Basin: A Reflection of the Target?


Two-toned Impact Crater in Balmer Basin: A Reflection of the Target?

Caption:

Materials excavated during formation of this ~450 m diameter impact crater have an unusual two-toned character, likely a reflection of heterogeneity in the target materials. This crater occurs in Balmer Basin, an area thought to harbor a type of 'cryptomare' -- an old volcanic surface covered by later light-toned impact deposits. The dark materials may be basaltic rock excavated from deeper parts of the crater. The crater is located at 18.341°S latitude and 69.950°E longitude. The scene is 540 m across, a subset of NAC M111138159LE.

Background Info:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center built and manages the mission for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera was designed to acquire data for landing site certification and to conduct polar illumination studies and global mapping. Operated by Arizona State University, LROC consists of a pair of narrow-angle cameras (NAC) and a single wide-angle camera (WAC). The mission is expected to return over 70 terabytes of image data.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Moon
System Earth
Target Type Satellite
Mission Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
Instrument Host Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (NAC)
Detector Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), Wide Angle Camera (WAC)
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Impact, Volcano
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2010-03-26
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12987
Identifier PIA12987