Marius (crater)

Marius is a lunar crater located on the Oceanus Procellarum. The surface to the west and north of this crater contains a large number of lunar domes spread across an area over a hundred kilometers in diameter. The nearest named crater feature is Reiner to the southwest. Kepler is located to the east-southeast, and rays from that formation reach the rim of Marius.

The floor of Marius has been flooded by basaltic lava, and the surface is relatively smooth and flat. There is no central rise, but a small craterlet Marius G lies in the northeast part of the floor. The crater rim is low and generally circular in form.

The area of this crater was one of the locations proposed for an Apollo mission, but the expedition was subsequently cancelled. About 50 kilometres to the southeast was the landing site of the Luna 7 probe.

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Marius.

Marius	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	12.6° N	46.0° W	15 km
B	16.3° N	47.3° W	12 km
C	14.0° N	47.6° W	11 km
D	11.4° N	45.0° W	9 km
E	12.1° N	52.7° W	6 km
F	12.1° N	45.3° W	6 km
G	12.1° N	50.6° W	3 km
H	11.3° N	50.3° W	5 km
J	10.5° N	46.9° W	3 km
K	9.4° N	50.6° W	4 km
L	15.9° N	55.7° W	8 km
M	17.4° N	54.9° W	6 km
N	18.7° N	54.7° W	4 km
P	17.9° N	51.3° W	4 km
Q	16.5° N	56.2° W	5 km
R	13.6° N	50.3° W	5 km
S	13.9° N	47.1° W	7 km
U	9.6° N	47.6° W	3 km
V	9.9° N	48.3° W	2 km
W	9.4° N	49.7° W	3 km
X	9.7° N	54.9° W	5 km
Y	9.8° N	50.7° W	2 km

References