South Ray (crater)

South Ray crater is a small crater located in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon. It was photographed by astronauts during the Apollo 16 mission. The name of the crater was officially recognized in 1973.

The Apollo 16 Lunar Module, named Orion, landed between North Ray and South Ray craters on April 21, 1972. Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored this area during three spacewalks, using a Lunar Roving Vehicle, or rover. They came closest to South Ray during their second spacewalk, at a place called Cinco crater, about 3.9 km south of where they landed. From there, Duke took pictures of South Ray with a special camera.

South Ray crater is about 700 meters wide and 120 meters deep. It has bright patterns of material thrown out during its formation, called rays. The astronauts noticed that the area around South Ray had many large rocks, making it hard to drive their rover there. The crater is part of a region called the Cayley Formation and is much younger than the surrounding landscape.