Chart of the reverse side of the moon

by Kira B. Shingareva
Moon
1967

A turning point early in her career was the 1967 Congress of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) where she presented, for the first time, the nomenclature of the reverse side of the Moon. She was then only 29 years old. The Soviet presentation of Atlas Obratnoi Storony Luny, Ghast 2, 1967 (Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon, Part 2) at the Union failed on several accounts. Shingareva claimed, “the images were of bad quality and there were mistakes.” Ewen A. Whitaker (1999: 176), who was closely involved with the proceedings, noted that the map and a list of new names seemed like a fait accompli. Moreover, some 45% of the names were Russian. In any case, when the USSR delegation presented their nomenclature of the Moon, they faced opposition from the United States National Committee on Lunar Mapping and Nomenclature. It suggested that only numbers should be assigned to the 450 features on the reverse side of the Moon and that “we should be very conservative in assigning names,” and “use names of permanent renown” (Commission de la Lune, 1967: 104).

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Kira B. Shingareva, professor at Moscow State University for Geodesy and Cartography was Principal Scientist at the Planetary Cartography Laboratory and the Laboratory of Comparative Planetology at the Institute of Space Researches at the Academy of Science. She was one of the most eminent cartographers of extra-terrestrial bodies and was among the first people to succeed in mapping the “dark” (reverse) side of the Moon. She headed the Commission on Planetary Cartography of the International Association of Cartography.