South Ray (crater)

South Ray (crater)

South Ray crater is a small crater on the Moon. It is in the Descartes Highlands. Astronauts saw it during the Apollo 16 mission. The name was made official in 1973.

The Apollo 16 Lunar Module was named Orion. It landed between North Ray and South Ray craters on April 21, 1972. Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke walked around this area three times. They used a Lunar Roving Vehicle, or rover. They got closest to South Ray during their second walk. This was at a spot called Cinco crater, about 3.9 km south of where they landed. From there, Duke took pictures of South Ray.

South Ray crater is about 700 meters wide and 120 meters deep. It has bright patterns of material thrown out when it formed, called rays. The astronauts saw many large rocks around South Ray. This made it hard to drive the rover there. The crater is part of a region called the Cayley Formation. It is much younger than the land around it.