The Fra Mauro formation (or Fra Mauro Highlands) is a lunar selenological formation on the near side of the 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 to due to an in-flight technical failure.
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 crater in close proximity to the immediate landing site of that 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.
Read more about Fra Mauro Formation: Formation and Geography, Geology, Landing Site Selection
Famous quotes containing the word formation:
“It is because the body is a machine that education is possible. Education is the formation of habits, a superinducing of an artificial organisation upon the natural organisation of the body.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)