Shackleton

Shackleton is an impact crater at the lunar south pole^W. The Moon's rotational axis passes through the crater, just a few kilometers from its center. The interior of Shackleton lies in permanent darkness, while the peaks along the crater's rim are almost constantly exposed to sunlight. The crater functions as a cold trap, any water vapor ending up here after comet impacts is kept permanently frozen on or below its surface. The existence of water ice, found in readings of scans made from Apollo 15's CSM while in lunar orbit, and the high sunshine duration made this place an almost perfect location for a Moon base. Both the USA and the USSR have built their bases at the rim of Shackleton.

History[]

In October 1971, Apollo 15 was the third consecutive NASA mission after 13 and 14 with the aim to scout for a potential lunar base location with deposits of water ice nearby. Before landing on the Moon, they made spectroscopies of the lunar surface during several orbits. First readings of these scans indicated that the water ice concentration at Shackleton might be up to 500 times higher than at the mission's designated landing site, Mare Frigoris^W. However, Shackleton was over 4000 km away from that mare, which lies in the far north of the Moon, while Shacketon is almost exactly at the south pole. While mission commander Ed Baldwin wanted Houston to redirect them to the south and discussed the issue with his crew members Molly Cobb and Frank Sedgewick, Mission Control considered such a change that late into the mission as too big of a risk, and flight director Gene Kranz rejected that idea and wanted to redirect the next mission, Apollo 16, to Shackleton instead. After NASA Administrator Thomas Paine, who wanted to have an American lunar base established as soon as possible, put some pressure on Kranz and chief astronaut Deke Slayton, they left it to the crew to decide. After Molly, who was sceptic at first, also agreed, Baldwin and Cobb landed the LEM sucessfully at the rim of Shackleton. Two days later, Molly discovered water ice inside the crater.^[1]

Two years later, in October 1973, NASA landed the first module of their lunar base Jamestown beside Shackleton, close to Apollo 15's landing site.^[1]
In 1974, the Soviet Union launched their own base, Zvezda, and established it only a couple of kilometers away from the Americans.

In the following years, both countries extended their bases and started mining operations inside and around the crater.

Gallery[]

Behind the scenes[]

Shackleton is a potential location for future Moon landings, for the same reasons as in the show.
In 2006, NASA named the rim of Shackleton as a potential candidate for a lunar outpost. The crater is also a major candidate as landing site for the Artemis program^W.