Mary (crater)

Mary is a small lunar impact crater located on the near side of the Moon. It is situated in the Mare Tranquillitatis, a large lunar mare. Its selenographic coordinates are 18.6° N, 26.8° E, and it has a diameter of approximately 0.5 kilometers.

Mary is a simple, bowl-shaped crater, typical of small lunar craters. It lacks a central peak and has a relatively sharp, well-defined rim. Due to its small size, it is often only visible under favorable lighting conditions and high magnification.

The crater is one of several small craters in the area that were given informal names by NASA during the Apollo missions. These names are not officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), but they are frequently used in lunar charts and scientific literature. The origin of the name "Mary" is unknown, but it is likely a personal name used for easy reference.

Surrounding Mary is the smooth, basaltic surface of Mare Tranquillitatis. Other nearby named craters include Diana, Irina, and Robert. These small craters, along with Mary, provide valuable data about the age and formation processes of the mare surface. While individually insignificant in size, the distribution and characteristics of these small craters contribute to our understanding of the lunar impact history and the geologic evolution of the Moon.