Moon's biggest impact crater made a radioactive splash

 Hey, Space Placers!

South Pole-Aiken Basin is at the 9 c'clock position on the far side of the Moon

Greg Redfern

GREAT article on the South Pole-Aiken Basin.

EXCERPTS:

"Roughly 4.3 billion years ago, when the solar system was still in its infancy, a giant asteroid slammed into the far side of the moon, blasting an enormous crater referred to as the South Pole-Aitken basin, or SPA. This impact feature is the largest crater on the moon, spanning more than 1,200 miles north to south, and 1,000 miles east to west. The oblong shape of the basin is the result of a glancing blow rather than a head-on impact. 

Upending conventional wisdom that SPA was formed by an asteroid coming in from a southern direction, the new analysis reveals that SPA's shape narrows toward the south, indicating an impact coming from the north instead. The down-range end of the basin should be covered by a thick layer of material excavated from the lunar interior by the impact, while the up-range end should not, Andrews-Hanna explained.

"This means that the Artemis missions will be landing on the down-range rim of the basin – the best place to study the largest and oldest impact basin on the moon, where most of the ejecta, material from deep within the moon's interior, should be piled up," said Andrews-Hanna, who is with the U of A Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. 

We are going to the Moon to stay this time.......

Sky Guy in VA