South Pole–Aitken basin

The South Pole - Aitken basin, the largest impact crater on Earth's Moon and the largest known in our solar system, the second largest Hellas Planitia on Mars.

The basin is enough with a diameter of 2240 km from the south pole of the moon to the crater Aitken on the Moon back and is up to 13 km deep ( other data refer to 2500 km and 12 km depth ). It has no pronounced crater rim.

Studies of the Clementine mission and the Lunar Prospector suggest that at the site of the South Pole - Aitken Basin, a very large impact body pierce the lunar crust and may have exposed mantle rocks. After the impact by which the pool was formed, it was further imparted by impacts many other craters. It is possible that even water ice is in the near polar craters, the material probably comes from external sources - ie the impact of the other celestial bodies " brought " was. Due to the location at the South Pole deeper parts of the basin are never illuminated by the sun, so that the water ice could have survived to this day.