Atlas-centered area in selenochromatic Image (Si) with some landmarks. More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromaticaOblique view of Atlas and Hercules from Apollo 16Atlas (center right) and Hercules (center left) Lunar cratersAtlas and Hercules at center, near the terminator as viewed from Earth
Atlas is a prominent lunarimpact crater that is located in the northeast part of the Moon, to the southeast of Mare Frigoris. Just to the west is the slightly smaller but still prominent crater Hercules. Northeast of Atlas is the large crater Endymion.
The inner wall of Atlas is multiply terraced and the edge slumped, forming a sharp-edged lip. This is a floor-fractured crater with a rough and hilly interior that has a lighter albedo than the surroundings. Floor-fractures are usually created as a result of volcanic modifications.
There are two dark patches along the inner edge of the walls; one along the north edge and another besides the southeast edges. A system of slender clefts named the Rimae Atlas crosses the crater floor, and were created by volcanism. Along the north and northeastern inner sides are a handful of dark-halo craters, most likely due to eruptions. Around the midpoint is a cluster of low central hills arranged in a circular formation.
The Atlas crater was the primary landing site of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 by ispace, that launched on December 11, 2022.[3] separating from the rocket 47 minutes later at a distance around 970 kilometres (600 mi) away from Earth.[4][verification needed] If it had been successful, this mission would have been the first private landing on the lunar surface,[5] and would have been the first Japanese probe to land on the Moon.
Communication with Hakuto-R Mission 1 was lost during the final moments of descent to the lunar surface at 16:40 UTC (00:40 JST) on 25 April 2023.[4][verification needed] The iSpace team confirmed that the $90 million dollar spacecraft had most likely crashed during its landing on the Moon. Analysis determined that the lander plummeted uncontrollably when the propellant was exhausted. This happened because the onboard computer wrongly assumed the radar altimeter was faulty, and ignoring its data, misjudged the actual altitude of the spacecraft and kept hovering 5 kilometers above the surface of the Moon.[4][6][7]
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID122125855.
Media related to Atlas (crater) at Wikimedia Commons
