art002e012702 (April 6, 2026) – Poynting crater and Keeler crater are visible side by side in the lower right portion of this image of the Moon’s far side highlands. Poynting, positioned above, is a large impact crater with a well-defined rim and relatively smooth interior, indicative of material that has settled following the initial impact. Just below it, Keeler crater appears slightly smaller, with a sharply outlined rim and a more textured interior shaped by subsequent impacts and ejecta. Both features lie within the densely cratered far side highlands, preserving a record of ancient impacts that have shaped the lunar surface over billions of years.
Poynting and Keeler Craters on the Lunar Far Side
Located roughly equidistant between two massive volcanoes, the approximately 60 km Poynting Crater and its ejecta, shown in this image from NASA Mars Odyssey spacecraft, have experienced an onslaught of volcanic activity.
Poynting Crater Ejecta