Malapert (crater)

The rim of Malapert forms an irregular ring of peaks around the interior floor. The western side of the rim is overlain by what appear to be impact craters. There are also small craters overlying the southeastern rim. Much of the interior and details of the rim remain hidden by shadows.

The southwestern part of the rim forms part of a 5-km-high rise in the surface that has been unofficially designated Malapert Mountain. This ridge appears wider along a line running roughly east–west, although details of the back side are hidden by shadows. The peak of this ridge lies almost exactly along 0° longitude, and it has the unusual attribute of lying within sight of both the Earth and the crater Shackleton at the south pole.

Mission concepts and plans

Due to the location of Malapert Mountain, it has been proposed as the site of a transmitter for an expedition to the south lunar pole. The back side of this ridge also lies within the radio shadow for transmissions from the Earth, and it has been suggested as a site for a radio telescope because the radio noise from Earth would be blocked.

In July 2013, private company Moon Express released details of a mission they were planning for no earlier than 2018. The mission would land two telescopes on the Moon, with the preferred location of Malapert crater, to take advantage of the benefits previously identified by lunar researchers Burton Sharpe and David Schrunk. The equipment would include both a 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) radio telescope as well as an optical telescope. This is the specific mission design of the mission first announced publicly the previous year, in collaboration with the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA). As of February 2024 no such mission has yet flown.