The International Astronomical Union has named a crater at the
Moon’s south pole after the Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, a Black man who in
1909 was one of the first people to stand at the very top of the world. The
proposal to name the crater after Henson came from Jordan Bretzfelder, an
Exploration Science summer intern with the Lunar and Planetary Institute, in
Houston, TX, which is a member of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual
Institute, headquartered at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon
Valley.
A portrait of Matthew Alexander Henson, wearing a fur suit, from 1910. Credits: United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Source
"Creating an inclusive community and achieving equity in the sciences
begins by recognizing the contributions of people from all backgrounds,"
said Bretzfelder, who is a PhD student at the University of California Los
Angeles. "It felt like a disservice that Henson hasn’t been appropriately
recognized for his contributions to polar science, and I'm proud to be a part
of rectifying that."
In NASA's missions today, putting the diverse backgrounds of humanity at the forefront of space exploration is a core part of the agency's values. Located between Sverdrup and de Gerlache craters at the south pole of the Moon, Henson Crater is in the same region the Artemis program aims to land the next slate of lunar explorers, which will be selected from NASA’s increasingly diverse astronaut pool.
"Creating an inclusive community and achieving equity in the sciences
begins by recognizing the contributions of people from all backgrounds,"
said Bretzfelder, who is a PhD student at the University of California Los
Angeles. "It felt like a disservice that Henson hasn’t been appropriately
recognized for his contributions to polar science, and I'm proud to be a part
of rectifying that."
In NASA's missions today, putting the diverse backgrounds of humanity at
the forefront of space exploration is a core part of the agency's values.
Located between Sverdrup and de Gerlache craters at the south pole of the Moon,
Henson Crater is in the same region the Artemis program aims to land the next
slate of lunar explorers, which will be selected from NASA’s increasingly
diverse astronaut pool.
A topographic map of the
Moon's south pole, with labels indicating the names of craters. The newly
approved Henson crater is indicated by the yellow circle. The map's color
indicates elevation. Credits: NASA/LPI
NASA’s Artemis program provides a cornerstone both to study planetary
processes and to create the infrastructure to advance human exploration at the
Moon and then Mars – a fitting continuation of the incredible journeys Earth
explorers like Henson took over a century ago.
Bretzfelder spent her internship working with David Kring of the Lunar and
Planetary Institute, mapping out potential landing sites for future Artemis
missions at the Moon's south pole with collaborating students Indujaa Ganesh of
the University of Arizona, Nandita Kumari of Stony Brook University, and
Antonio Lang of the State University of New York at Buffalo. With so many
unnamed features in that region, Bretzfelder thought that naming this crater
would both make discussions regarding landing site selection smoother and be an
opportunity to highlight an overlooked historical figure in polar exploration.
Henson was an experienced explorer and skilled as a carpenter and
craftsman. He was on the front lines of almost a dozen Arctic expeditions
organized by Robert Peary over the course of 18 years, including the one that
ultimately reached the North Pole.
The final push of that expedition was made by Henson, Peary, and four Inuit
companions named Ooqueah, Ootah, Eningwah and Seegloo, all traveling by dog
sledge. Henson was in the lead of the group as they searched for the pole.
On that day, because of a mist that covered the Sun, they were unable to
tell their precise location. The next morning, they discovered they had
overshot the Pole by several miles the day prior – when Henson was out in
front. Circling back, Henson found his footprints were first at the North Pole.
Whether Henson was the very first human to ever reach the North Pole is
hard to know, as it’s very possible Indigenous people in the Arctic explored
the area in the thousands of years they have been present in the region. But
it's clear by his account that he was the first at the pole in Peary's
expedition, and the first person in recent history to have reached the very top
of our globe.
Henson was born in 1866 in Maryland, the year after slavery was abolished
in the United States. Henson did receive accolades at the time for his historic
achievement. However, because many were hesitant to credit a Black man with
successfully completing a mission that many others had attempted and failed for
centuries, there was controversy that diminished Henson's role, often giving
credit to Peary instead.
"Henson exemplifies the kind of exploration the NASA of today strives
to do," said Jim Green, chief scientist at NASA Headquarters.
"When Artemis sends the next generation of astronauts to the lunar
surface, it will be our honor to have Henson's name on our lunar maps."
For news media:
Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach
out to the NASA Ames newsroom.
Author: Frank Tavares, NASA's Ames Research Center
Top image: A mosaic image of the south pole of the Moon. Henson crater is
located just south of de Gerlache crater, seen here to the left of the south
pole at the center of this mosaic. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State
University
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/henson-crater
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