The Fra Mauro formation (or Fra Mauro Highlands) is a formation on the near side of Earth's Moon that served as the landing site for the American Apollo 14 mission in 1971. It is named after the 80-kilometer-diameter crater Fra Mauro, located within it. The formation, as well as Fra Mauro crater, take their names from a 15th-century Italian monk and mapmaker of the same name. Apollo 13 was originally scheduled to land in the Fra Mauro highlands, but was unable due to an in-flight technical failure.[1][2][3]
Fra Mauro is thought to have been formed from ejecta, or debris, from the impact which formed Mare Imbrium. During Apollo 14, the crew members sampled ejecta from Cone crater, a feature close in proximity to the immediate landing site of the mission, which provided insight into the composition of material deep inside the formation. Data from the mission has helped to determine the approximate age of Mare Imbrium, suggesting that it is no more than about 4.25 billion years old.[2][4]
- ^ "Landing Site Overview". Apollo 14 Mission. Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Apollo 14 Landing Site". The Apollo Program. National Air and Space Museum. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Fra Mauro". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ Compston, W.; Vernon; Berry; Rudowski (September 1971). "The age of the Fra Mauro Formation: a radiometric older limit". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 12 (1): 55–58. Bibcode:1971E&PSL..12...55C. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(71)90054-9.