Palmetto (crater)

{{Short description|Crater on the Moon}}

{{Infobox Lunar crater

| image = Palmetto crater AS16-P-4618 ASU.jpg

| caption = Apollo 16 image

| coordinates = {{coord|8.92|S|15.5|E|globe:moon_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| diameter = 760 m[http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4561 Palmetto], Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)

| depth =

| colong =

| eponym = Astronaut-named feature

}}

Image:Palmetto crater AS14-69-9535.jpg image with Palmetto at center and Gator in upper right, facing east]]

Palmetto 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.

On April 21, 1972, the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) Orion landed about 1.5 km south of Palmetto, 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 drove along the rim of Palmetto on EVA 3, on their way to North Ray, but did not stop. As they drove by, Duke said "There's a good ejecta blanket of half-meter-size boulders around the rim of Palmetto into some of these secondary craters here."[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.trvsta11.html Traverse to North Ray Crater], Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal. On the way back to the lunar module from North Ray, Duke took a sequence of photos of Palmetto while riding on the rover.

Image:Palmetto crater AS16-117-18767-18771.jpg on the way from Station 13 back to the lunar module. The bright line near the horizon at left is South Ray.]]

The crater was also used as a landmark by Apollo astronauts on previous missions. It was designated landmark DE-1/12,[https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/pdf/19710002567_lunar-landmark-locations-a8-a10-a11-a12.pdf Lunar Landmark Locations - Apollo 8, 10, 11, and 12 Missions]. NASA technical note D-6082. Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. November 1970. Figure 22. and astronaut Dick Gordon tracked it photographically on revolutions 42 and 44 of the Apollo 12 mission.

Palmetto crater is approximately 760 m in diameter and approximately 130 m deep.[http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/topophoto/78D2S1/ Apollo 16 Landing Area], 78D2S1(50), NASA Lunar Topophotomap. Published by The Defense Mapping Agency, November 1974. Available from Lunar and Planetary Institute. The similar-sized crater Gator lies 1 km to the southeast.

Palmetto cuts into the Cayley Formation of Imbrian age.[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16USGSGeoMap25k.jpg 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

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