Taurus-Littrow
Taurus-Littrow is a valley on the near side of the moon at the coordinates 20 ° 0 ' N , 31 ° 0' O . It is located in the south-eastern part of the Mare Serenitatis . The mare itself was formed 3.8 to 3.9 billion years ago after the impact of a large object. In December 1972, the valley was the target of the Apollo 17 mission .
Naming
Since the valley with the landing zone of Apollo 17 is in the Taurus chain and south of the Littrow crater , the name became common during the course of the mission. It was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union in 1973 .
The data collected by Apollo 17 show that the large mountains surrounding the valley are primarily formed by feldspar-containing breccia . The valley floor, on the other hand, consists of basalt underground, above which is a loose cover layer consisting of a mixture of regolith and materials that were created during various geological events.
geology
A few million years after the creation of the Mare Serenatis, lava began to flow out of the interior of the moon. The astronauts of Apollo 17, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, were able to take rock and soil samples from these lava flows, which provide an insight into the geology and evolutionary history of the moon. 100 million and 200 million years after the Mare Serenatis basin and the Taurus-Littrow valley had formed, the lava that had swelled from the interior of the moon began to flood the lower areas. These lava flows were often accompanied by ejections that covered the area with small glass spheres. These glass spheres are sometimes colored orange, which explains the orange colored surface that the Apollo 17 astronauts found. However, most of these glass beads are darkly colored, which explains the dark appearance of the Mare Serenatis from a distance.
Landing site selection
Since Apollo 17 was the last lunar mission of the Apollo program, the aim was to maximize the scientific yield. Landing sites that were shortlisted in the previous missions were re-selected and reassessed. The Taurus-Littrow Valley was one of several landing sites that were shortlisted, including Tycho , Copernicus and, on the far side of the moon , Tsiolkovskiy . All but Taurus-Littrow dropped out for scientific or technical reasons. Landing at Tycho was considered too dangerous because of the rough terrain. A landing at Tsiolkovskiy Crater would have required additional communications satellites to ensure the connection between the ground crew and the landing team, which would have made the mission much more expensive. A landing in Copernicus Crater was not considered to be of importance as other missions had already landed in the area around Mare Imbrium .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Taurus-Littrow Valley . In: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature . International Astronomical Union. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ↑ Apollo 17 Landing Site Overview . Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved January 21, 2014.