Fact Sheet
Lunar Impact
Three large lunar craters show up in this image from Ranger 9, which slammed into the Moon 40 years ago today. Ptolemaeus is the large crater at top, Alphonsus is at lower left, and Albategnius is at lower right. Ptolemaeus is the largest, at a diameter of about 102 miles (164 km). Ranger 9 was the last of a series of probes designed to slam into the Moon after transmitting pictures during their descent. They helped select landing sites for later missions. [Credit: NASA]
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