Mars, named after South Africa

7 named features. The International Astronomical Union records why each name was chosen, and those reasons are printed below exactly as they were approved.

FEATURES · 7

NAME	TYPE	SIZE	WHY THAT NAME
Eddie	crater	86.4 km	Lindsay A.; South African astronomer (1845-1913).
Du Toit	crater	81.8 km	Alexander L.; South African geologist (1878-1948).
Elim	crater	43.6 km	Town in South Africa.
Taung	crater	40 km	Town in South Africa.
Nqutu	crater	21 km	Nquthu, town in South Africa.
Secunda	crater	11 km	Town in South Africa.
Johannesburg	crater	1.2 km	Republic of South Africa tracking site.

Names and their origins come from the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (USGS Astrogeology), retrieved 2026-08-14.
All named features ｜ KUON MARS map ｜ About the map ｜ The temperature on Mars ｜ How far away Mars is

DATA: IAU / USGS Astrogeology · NASA MGS MOLA · NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS