Fra Mauro (crater)
Fra Mauro is the worn remnant of a walled lunar plain. It is part of the surrounding Fra Mauro formation, being located to the northeast of Mare Cognitum and southeast of Mare Insularum. Attached to the southern rim are the co-joined craters Bonpland and Parry, which intrude into the formation forming inward-bulging walls. The crater is named after Italian geographer Fra Mauro.[1]
Apollo missions[edit]
The area north of Fra Mauro crater was the intended landing site of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, which was aborted after an oxygen tank aboard the spacecraft exploded. The crew later returned safely to Earth. The next mission, Apollo 14, landed at Fra Mauro. The Apollo 14 crew (Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell) sampled breccia that had been deposited here by the Imbrium basin-forming impact, and which partly covers Fra Mauro. This rough debris blanket of ejecta is referred to as the "Fra Mauro Formation".
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Fra Mauro.