Aristarchus Region

myminifactory

The Aristarchus Plateau has captivated astronomers for decades, its unique shape and dramatic reflectance extremes impossible to ignore. A stunning channel, or rille, cuts across the plateau's surface, alongside the youthful Aristarchus Crater, a regional overview of which reveals its full majesty. As the largest impact crater on the plateau, Aristarchus is also one of the moon's brightest features, shining brightly in telescopes due to its exceptionally high reflectance. The plateau itself is encircled by Oceanus Procellarum's vast lava flows, while the surrounding region boasts an unusually high concentration of sinuous rilles. Vallis Schroeteri, the largest of these rilles, is also the moon's longest and most impressive example. Meanwhile, the plateau is nearly entirely shrouded in one of the largest lunar pyroclastic deposits, a testament to its geological complexity and untapped resource potential. As such, the Aristarchus region has long been a prime target for exploration by NASA's Constellation Program and future lunar missions. This model has been rendered with a 3x vertical exaggeration.