ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft took this image of Kepler crater on the Moon using its Advanced Moon Imaging Experiment. The AMIE obtained the image on Jan. 13 from a distance ranging between 1,613 kilometers and 1,702 kilometers (1,000 miles to 1,055 miles) from the surface, with a ground resolution between 146 meters and 154 meters (475 feet and 500 feet) per pixel.
The imaged area is centered at 37.8 degrees south latitude and 9.0 degrees east longitude on the lunar surface. Kepler is a small young crater situated between Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Insularum. It has a diameter of 32 kilometers (20 miles) and it is 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) deep.
Kepler displays a ray system that overlaps with rays from other craters and extends more than 300 kilometers (186 miles). The outer wall shows a slightly polygonal shape. The interior walls of the crater are slumped and slightly terraced, and descend to an uneven floor and a minor central rise.
This particular image demonstrates the tracking mode of the SMART-1, used to track a fixed target when flying over it. Thanks to the tracking mode, it is possible to obtain information about the size and roughness properties of the soil. It also allows multiple stereo views of the target's topography.
Kepler crater is named after Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a German astronomer known for his three laws of planetary motion.
