Banting (crater) Banting (crater) Banting is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater located near the middle of the Mare Serenitatis on the Earth's moon. Originally named Linné E, in 1973 the crater was renamed for Sir Frederick Banting in honour of his outstanding medical contributions – the most famous being his discovery of insulin. Linné itself, named after the 18th-century Swedish botanist Carl von Linné, lies to the west-northwest. Other nearby craters are Sarabahi in the east-southeast and Hornsby located more than 100 km to the southwest. About 70–80 km to the east is Bessel H, a satellite crater of Bessel. About
Banting (crater) a large patch of lunar mare. Maria like Mare Serenitatis are dark, smooth areas created by lava pooling on the surface and then cooling, covering up any previously existing craters. They were originally called "maria" ("seas") because astronomers believed they were bodies of water. Banting is flanked by two U.S. lunar landing sites – those of Apollo 15 and 17 – which lie several hundred miles on either side of the crater. Mare Serenitatis is frequently perceived to be the eastern eye of the Man in the Moon. The Man in the Moon is on the near side of the