U.S. Heritage Lunar Sites & Preserve

On July 16, 1969 Apollo11 launched on a Saturn V rocket from Cape Canaveral. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. Four days later (July 20), humans walked on the moon for the first time.

For the first lunar landing, Mare Tranquillitatis was the site chosen because it is a relatively smooth and level area. It is 41.5 km north-northeast of the western promontory of the Kant Plateau, which is the nearest highland region. The area has a high density of craters, as well as fragmental debris ranging in size from fine particles to blocks about 0.8 meter wide.

The Surveyor 5 spacecraft is approximately 25 km north-northwest of the Apollo 11 landing site, and the impact crater formed by Ranger 8 is 69 km northeast of the landing site.

Apollo 12 was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. The Lunar Module, nicknamed Intrepid and flown by Charles "Pete" Conrad and Alan Bean, made a pinpoint landing just 160 meters (520 feet) from the Surveyor 3 probe that had landed two and a half years earlier.

Intrepid landed in the Ocean of Storms at 3 degrees, 11 hours, 51 minutes south, and 23 degrees, 23 minutes, and 7.5 seconds west. Landing was about 120 feet northeast of Head Crater, and about 535 feet northwest from where Surveyor 3 stood in its crater. Apollo 12 touched down approximately 950 miles west of where Apollo 11 had landed.

The landing site is in a broad, shallow valley between radial ridges of the Fra Mauro Formation and approximately 500 kilometers from the edge of the Imbrium Basin. The major crater Copernicus lies 360 kilometers to the north, and bright ray material that emanates from Copernicus Crater covers much of the landing site region. The young and very blocky Cone Crater is in the immediate landing area. The crater is approximately 340 meters in diameter and penetrates the regolith on the ridge to the east of the landing site.

Prior to the abort of Apollo 13, Apollo 14 was targeted to land in the Littrow region of Mare Serenitatis, where the objective was to study young, pyroclastic volcanic deposits. Following the Apollo 13 abort, it was decided to retarget Apollo 14 to the Fra Mauro site, which was regarded as scientifically more important than the Littrow site.

Apollo 15 was the fourth crewed mission to land on the Moon. The crew consisted of David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin. It was the first of the “J” missions, which allowed for more time on the surface to do science experiments. It was also the first to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle.

Apollo 15's landing site is on the relatively smooth Hadley Delta, a smooth plain of basaltic lava east of Hadley Rille (the sinuous channel-like depression). To the east of Hadley Delta are the lunar Montes Apennines, an arc of rugged massifs that forms the rim of the Imbrium impact basin.

The landing site / camping area is on the eastern edge of Mare Imbrium of the Imbrium Basin. The area includes a dark mare plain call Palus Putredinis (the Marsh of Decay). Aristillus and Autolycus Craters, north of the landing site, have numerous bright rays associated with them, and some of these rays cross the landing site.

The landing site was selected so that, with the aid of the lunar roving vehicle, astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin could examine the Apennine Front at Hadley Delta, the eastern rim of Hadley Rille, and two prominent groups of craters on the mare surface.

Apollo was the fifth crewed mission to land on the Moon and it was also the 2nd “J” mission, with an extended stay on the surface. It also used a Lunar Roving Vehicle to explore and collect science experiments.

The Landing Module (LM) landed in a subdued old crater, approximately 75 meters in diameter. The area is saturated with these old craters so that the few young sharp-rimmed craters provide a notable contrast to the pervasiveness of the old craters.

There are also a few 1 to 2-meter craters nearby with glass-coated bottoms. This glass is cracked and wrinkled so that it looks like dried mud.

Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program with a crew of Commander Eugen Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. The Landing site is in the Taurus-Littrow Valley on the eastern rim of Mare Serenitatis. Several 100-meter-sized craters are in the vicinity.

The valley is bounded on three sides by large mountains that compose a portion of the rim of the Serenitatis Basin; the three most prominent mountains around the landing site are South Massif, North Massif, and East Massif. Closely spaced domical hills, smaller in size than the massifs, compose the northeastern edge of the valley.

A prominent topographic feature on the Taurus-Littrow valley floor is the Lincoln Scarp (which merges with the Lee Scarp near South Massif). The Lincoln Scarp crosses both the valley floor and the surrounding highland material in North Massif.

The group camping area is in a sub-moonean cavern accessed by ancient tunnels (lava tubes) beneath the Marius Hills. The area is the largest concentration of volcanic features on the moon and is located in the southwest Oceanus Procellarum and west of Marius crater.

The entrance was originally discovered (imaged) by Japan's Moon-orbiting SELENE spacecraft in 2009.

Subsequent observations by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) indicated that the Marius Hills Hole (MHH) extends down nearly 200 meters and is several hundred meters wide. Ground penetrating radar data from SELENE found extensive lava tubes extending down a few kilometers and may actually be large enough to house a small Moon colony.

The group camping area is located about ½ kilometer from the entrance and in a sealed lava tube. The tube offers shelter from the large temperature swings, micro-meteor impacts, and harmful solar radiation on the surface.

Up to 12 campers can stay at the group camping area. Amenities include beds & linens, chemical toilets, lighting, chairs and a fully-stocked kitchenette. Water and food are also provided.