Spook (crater)

Spook
Apollo 16 image, with Flag left of center and Spook right of center. Buster is the small crater north of Spook.
Coordinates8°59′S 15°29′E / 8.98°S 15.48°E / -8.98; 15.48
Diameter340 m[1]
EponymAstronaut-named feature

Spook crater is a small crater in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon visited by the astronauts of Apollo 16. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973.[1] Geology Station 2 is adjacent to Spook, between it and the smaller, younger crater called Buster to the north of it.

On April 21, 1972, the Apollo 16 Lunar Module Orion landed about 500 m east of Spook, which is between the prominent North Ray and South Ray craters. The astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the area over the course of three EVAs using a Lunar Roving Vehicle, or rover. They stopped at Spook during EVA 1, on the way back to the LM from Flag crater.

Spook crater is approximately 340 m in diameter and over 20 m deep.[2] Spook is about 550 m west of the landing site itself. The small, fresh crater called Buster is north of Spook. Many samples were collected at the south rim of Buster.

The Lunar Portable Magnetometer (LPM) was used to obtain a reading of approximately 180 γ (gamma) at Spook.[3] This was one of five locations at the landing site where the LPM was used.

Spook cuts into the Cayley Formation of Imbrian age.[4]

  • Mosaic showing Spook crater with Stone Mountain in the background. The white line near the horizon at right is the ejecta blanket of South Ray crater.
    Mosaic showing Spook crater with Stone Mountain in the background. The white line near the horizon at right is the ejecta blanket of South Ray crater.
  • The Lunar Portable Magnetometer (LPM) was used to take a magnetic field measurement at the north rim of Spook
    The Lunar Portable Magnetometer (LPM) was used to take a magnetic field measurement at the north rim of Spook
  1. ^ a b Spook, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  2. ^ Apollo 16 Landing Area, 78D2S1(50), NASA Lunar Topophotomap. Published by The Defense Mapping Agency, November 1974. Available from Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  3. ^ Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-315), 1972
  4. ^ Geologic Map of the Apollo 16 (Descartes) Landing Area by Apollo Field Geology Investigation Team (D. P. Elston, E. L. Boudette, J. P. Schafer), United States Geological Survey, April 1972