Lunar north pole

Lunar north polar region mosaic by LRO. The north pole is in the center

The lunar north pole is the point in the Northern Hemisphere of the Moon where the lunar axis of rotation meets its surface.

The lunar north pole is the northernmost point on the Moon, lying diametrically opposite the lunar south pole. It defines latitude 90° North. At the lunar north pole all directions point south; all lines of longitude converge there, so its longitude can be defined as any degree value.

Craters

Notable craters in the lunar north polar region (between 60° North latitude and the North pole) include: Avogadro, Bel'kovich, Brianchon, Emden, Gamow, Goldschmidt, Hermite, J. Herschel, Meton, Nansen, Pascal, Petermann, Philolaus, Plaskett, Pythagoras, Rozhdestvenskiy, Schwarzschild, Seares, Sommerfeld, Stebbins, Sylvester, Thales, Van't Hoff, W. Bond

Exploration

The Astrobotic Technology Icebreaker mission was previously planned for a 2015 mission, but was delayed to the second-half of 2016. They have now contracted with two other GLXP teams including Team Hakuto and Team AngelicvM. The agreement is to launch the rovers of all teams on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 which will then use the Astrobotic Griffin lander to touch down on the surface of the Moon. After landing on the lunar surface, all teams will compete against each other to achieve the objectives and win the GLXP prize.

See also

• Colonization of the Moon polar regions
• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
• Selenography

External links

• USGS: Earth's Moon
• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC)
• LROC - Northern Polar Mosaic