KUON GEO

The Moon, named after Russia

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

FEATURES · 74

NAMETYPESIZEWHY THAT NAME
Mendeleevcrater325.1 kmDmitri Ivanovich; Russian chemist (1834-1907).
Montes Riphaeusmons190.1 kmNamed from range in Asia (now Ural Mountains).
Chebyshevcrater179.1 kmPafnuty Lvovich; Russian mathematician (1821-1894).
Struvecrater164.3 kmOtto Wilhelm von; German-born Russian astronomer (1819-1905); Otto; American astronomer (1897-1963); Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von; German-born Russian astronomer (1793-1864).
Catena Mendeleevcatena125.2 kmNamed from nearby crater.
Lebedevcrater121.8 kmPëtr Nikolajevich; Russian physicist (1866-1912).
Kovalevskayacrater113.7 kmSofya Vasilyevna; Russian mathematician (1850-1891).
Yablochkovcrater101.5 kmPavel Nikoaevich; Russian electrical engineer (1847-1894).
Sikorskycrater97.7 kmIgor Ivanovich; Russian-American aeronautical engineer (1889-1972).
Kibal'chichcrater91.7 kmNikolaj Ivanovich; Russian rocketry scientist (1853-1881).
Lomonosovcrater90.7 kmMikhail Vasilievich; Russian poet, scientist, and grammarian (1711-1765).
Lobachevskiycrater87.3 kmNikolay Ivanovich; Russian mathematician (1793-1856).
Zhukovskiycrater82.1 kmNikolay Egorovich; Russian physicist (1847-1921).
Backlundcrater75.5 kmJöns Oskar; Russian astronomer (1846-1916).
Shternberg (Sternberg)crater74.4 kmPavel Karlovich; Russian astronomer (1865-1920).
Popovcrater71.4 kmAleksandr Stepanovich; Russian physicist, engineer (1859-1905); C.; Bulgarian astronomer (1880-1966).
Parrotcrater70.7 kmJohann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm; Russian doctor, physicist (1792-1840).
Konstantinovcrater68.1 kmKonstantin Ivanovich; Russian rocketry scientist (1817-1871).
Lyapunovcrater67.6 kmAleksandr Mikhailovich; Russian mathematician, engineer (1857-1918).
Polzunovcrater66.5 kmIvan Ivanovich; Russian heat engineer (1728-1766).
Meshcherskiycrater65.9 kmIvan Vsevolodovich; Russian mathematician (1859-1935).
Tseraskiy (Ceraski)crater65.6 kmVitol'd Karlovich; Russian astronomer (1849-1925).
Sechenovcrater63.8 kmIvan Mikhaylovich; Russian physiologist (1829-1905).
Bellinsgauzen (Bellingshausen)crater63.2 kmFaddei Faddeevich; Russian explorer (1778-1852).
Promontorium Agarumpromontorium62.5 kmNamed from cape in Sea of Azov.
Anuchincrater62.1 kmDimitrii Nikolaevich; Russian geographer (1843-1923).
Belopol'skiycrater61.9 kmAristarch Apollonovich; Russian astronomer (1854-1934).
Bredikhincrater61.7 kmFedor Aleksandrovich; Russian astronomer (1831-1904).
Kozyrevcrater59.4 kmNikolai Alexandrovich; Soviet astronomer (1908-1983).
Mechnikovcrater58.8 kmIlya Ilich; Russian-French bacteriologist; Nobel laureate (1845-1916).
Lodygincrater56.1 kmAleksandr Nikolaevich; Russian inventor (1847-1923).
Karrercrater55.6 kmPaul; Russian/Swiss biochemist; Nobel laureate (1889-1971).
Nefed'evcrater52.9 kmAnatoly Alexeevich; Russian astronomer (1910-1976).
Timiryazevcrater52.2 kmKliment Arkadievich; Russian botanist, physiologist (1843-1920).
Schubertcrater51.9 kmTheodor Friedrich von; Russian cartographer (1789-1865).
Krusensterncrater46.4 kmAdam Johann, Baron Von; Russian explorer (1770-1846).
Vil'evcrater45.8 kmMikhail; Russian astronomer (1893-1919).
Koval'skiycrater45 kmMarian Albertovich; Russian astronomer (1821-1884). (Spelling changed from Koval'skij.)
Tsinger (Zinger)crater44.2 kmNikolai Iakovlevich; Russian astronomer (1842-1918).
Stoletovcrater42.4 kmAleksandr Grigorievich; Russian physicist (1839-1896).
Ganskiy (Hansky)crater42.1 kmAleksey Pavlovich; Russian astronomer (1870-1908).
Krasnovcrater41.2 kmAleksander V.; Russian astronomer (1866-1907).
Glushkocrater40.1 kmValentin Petrovich; Russian space scientist (1908-1989).
Markovcrater39.9 kmAleksandr Vladimirovich; Soviet astrophysicist (1897-1968); Andrei Andreevich; Russian mathematician (1856-1922).
Butlerovcrater38.8 kmAleksandr Mikhailovich; Russian chemist (1828-1886).
Litke (Lütke)crater38.2 kmFyodor Petrovich; Russian geographer (1797-1882).
Fesenkovcrater36.1 kmVasilii Grigor'evich; Russian astrophysicist (1889-1972).
Golitsyncrater35.5 kmBoris Borisovich; Russian physicist (1862-1916).
Galimovcrater33 kmErik; Russian geochemist (1936-2020).
Pomortsevcrater25.5 kmMikhail Mikhailovich; Russian rocketry scientist (1851-1916).
Lents (Lenz)crater22 kmHeinrich Friedrich Emil; Russian physicist (1804-1865).
Kramarovcrater21.1 kmGrigory Moiseevich; Soviet space scientist (1887-1970).
Promontorium Archerusiapromontorium11.2 kmNamed from cape on the Black Sea.
Natashacrater11 kmRussian female name.
Zasyadkocrater10.3 kmAlexander Dmitrievich; Russian rocketry scientist, inventor (1779-1837).
Rupes Borisrupes8.6 kmNamed from nearby crater.
Beketovcrater8.3 kmNikolai Nikolaevich; Russian chemist (1827-1911).
Malinkincrater8.3 kmEgor Ivanovich, Russian meteorite researcher (1923-2008).
Kiracrater6.8 kmRussian female name.
Fedorovcrater6.1 kmA.P.; Russian rocket scientist (1872-1920).
Catena Yuricatena4.5 kmRussian male name.
Ivancrater3.8 kmRussian male name.
Boriscrater1.7 kmRussian male name.
Boryacrater0.4 kmSlavic male name Boris in Russian diminutive form (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Genacrater0.2 kmGreek-derived male name Gennady in Russian diminutive form (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Igorcrater0.1 kmNorse male name Ingvar adopted as Russian name (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Kolyacrater0.1 kmRussian male name, diminutive from Greek-derived Nicholas (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Kostyacrater0.1 kmLatin-derived male name Konstantin in Russian diminutive form (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Leonidcrater0.1 kmRussian male name of Greek origin (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Levcrater0.1 kmRussian male name of Hebrew origin.
Nikolyacrater0.1 kmRussian diminutive form of the Greek-derived male name Nicholas (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Valeracrater0.1 kmMale name Valery of Latin origin in Russian diminutive form (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Vasyacrater0.1 kmRussian diminutive form of male name Vasily of Greek origin (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Vityacrater0.1 kmLatin male name Victor in Russian diminutive form (Lunokhod-1 landing site feature).
Names and their origins come from the IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (USGS Astrogeology), retrieved 2026-08-14.
All named featuresKUON THE MOON mapAbout the mapEvery landing site on the Moon
DATA: IAU / USGS Astrogeology · NASA LRO LOLA