page_title: Shackleton (crater)
hierarchical_section_title: Shackleton (crater)
caption_attribution_description: English: Lunar south pole temperature as imaged by Diviner. Annotated. Cabeus Crater, de Gerlache Crater, Haworth Crater, Shackleton Crater, Shoemaker Crater, Faustini Crater, Nobile Crater, Amundsen Crater.
context_page_description: Shackleton is an impact crater that lies at the south pole of the Moon. The peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, while the interior is perpetually in shadow. The low-temperature interior of this crater functions as a cold trap that may capture and freeze volatiles shed during comet impacts on the Moon. Measurements by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed higher than normal amounts of hydrogen within the crater, which may indicate the presence of water ice. The crater is named after Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.
context_section_description: Shackleton is an impact crater that lies at the south pole of the Moon. The peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, while the interior is perpetually in shadow (a crater of eternal darkness). The low-temperature interior of this crater functions as a cold trap that may capture and freeze volatiles shed during comet impacts on the Moon. Measurements by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed higher than normal amounts of hydrogen within the crater, which may indicate the presence of water ice. The crater is named after Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.
caption: South lunar pole as imaged by the Diviner instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Shackleton is at bottom center. NASA photo.
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