Shackleton crater

E822841

Shackleton crater is a large, permanently shadowed impact crater near the Moon’s south pole, notable for its potential water ice deposits and importance for future lunar exploration.

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All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Cabeus crater 1
Shackleton (lunar crater) 1
Shackleton crater canonical 1

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf lunar impact crater
permanently shadowed region
consideredFor future lunar base sites
in-situ resource utilization
lunar south pole power and communication hubs on rim
hasAge likely ancient impact structure
hasAlbedoCharacteristic interior appears dark in visible wavelengths
interior floor has relatively high radar backscatter
hasApproximateDepth 4.2 kilometers
hasApproximateDiameter 21 kilometers
hasCoordinateSystemReference used as reference feature for lunar south pole mapping
hasEnvironment extremely low interior temperatures
large temperature contrast between rim and floor
near-constant darkness on crater floor
hasExplorationInterest crewed missions
robotic landers
surface and subsurface prospecting for ice
hasFeature relatively sharp rim
steep inner walls
hasGeologicalContext located within the lunar south polar region
hasIllumination interior is in near-permanent shadow
rim receives near-continuous sunlight
hasLatitude about 89.9 degrees south
hasPotentialResource other trapped volatiles
water ice
hasScientificInterest potential water ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions
record of volatile accumulation at lunar poles
thermal environment suitable for cryogenic trapping of volatiles
hasStrategicAdvantage line-of-sight communication from rim to Earth
near-continuous solar power on rim
hasTopography rim elevation higher than surrounding terrain
isPartOf lunar south polar cratering system
locatedAt lunar south pole
locatedOn Moon NERFINISHED
namedAfter Ernest Shackleton NERFINISHED
observedBy Clementine spacecraft NERFINISHED
Kaguya (SELENE) spacecraft NERFINISHED
Lunar Prospector spacecraft NERFINISHED
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NERFINISHED
relevantTo NASA Artemis program planning
international lunar exploration strategies
studiedUsing laser altimetry
neutron spectrometry
optical imaging of illuminated rim
radar measurements

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

lunar south polar region hasNotableCrater Shackleton crater
lunar south polar region hasNotableCrater Shackleton crater
this entity surface form: Cabeus crater
crater Amundsen on the Moon hasNearbyCrater Shackleton crater
subject surface form: Amundsen (lunar crater)
this entity surface form: Shackleton (lunar crater)