Shackleton Crater Rim (Lunar South Pole)

What Happened Here?

Landing and target site for south polar missions. IM-2 Athena landed near the rim March 6, 2025 (tipped). Chang'e 7 targets the illuminated rim in 2026.

Permanently shadowed regions inside Shackleton crater are confirmed to contain water ice. This area is the focus of Artemis, ILRS, and commercial south polar exploration.

Region Overview

Region within ~30° of the south pole containing permanently shadowed craters with confirmed water ice. Target of Chandrayaan-3, Luna 25, IM-1, IM-2 Athena, and Chang'e 7.

Geological Feature: Shackleton Crater

Near-polar crater at the lunar south pole. Permanently shadowed interior contains confirmed water ice. Target of multiple missions.

• Permanently Shadowed Region (PSR)
• Confirmed Water Ice Evidence

Missions Associated with this Site

• IM-2 Athena (2025) · Intuitive Machines PARTIAL
  Confirmed landing. Southernmost spacecraft to land on the Moon
• Chang'e 7 (2026) · China PLANNED
  🔭 Future planned target site — not yet landed.

Historical Timeline

• 2025-02-26 — Launch from Kennedy Space Center on Falcon 9 (IM-2 Athena)
• 2025-03-05 — Entered lunar orbit (IM-2 Athena)
• 2025-03-06 — Athena touches down near Shackleton Crater rim — southernmost lunar landing (IM-2 Athena)
• 2025-03-06 — Lander tips on side — partial mission status (IM-2 Athena)
• 2025-03-16 — Mission operations end before lunar night (IM-2 Athena)
• 2026-08 — Target launch window — Long March 5 from Wenchang (tentative) (Chang'e 7)
• TBD — Lunar orbit insertion (Chang'e 7)
• TBD — Precision landing near Shackleton Crater rim (Chang'e 7)
• TBD — Mini-flying probe deployed into permanently shadowed region (Chang'e 7)

Site Imagery & Gallery

Scientific References & Sources

• https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/im-2/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackleton_(crater)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IM-2
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_7
• https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/
• https://www.spacenews.com/china-confirms-change-7-launch-window/

Explore Shackleton Crater Rim (Lunar South Pole) in 3D

Interactive 3D Moon atlas with terrain model, spacecraft markers, and historical site stories.