Sedan Crater - History

History

The 1,280 by 320 ft (390 by 100 m) crater was created on July 6, 1962 by a 104-kiloton-of-TNT (440 TJ) nuclear explosion. The device was buried 635 feet (194 m) below the desert floor in Area 10 of Yucca Flat and was the largest cratering shot in the Plowshare Program. The explosion created fallout that affected more US residents than any other nuclear test, exposing more than 13 million people to radiation and marked the end of the program.

Use in the Apollo Program

Because the craters at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) have features similar to the topography of Moon craters all of the 12 American Astronauts who have walked on the moon trained at the Nevada Test Site before their missions.

Environmental Recovery

Russian thistle, also known as tumbleweed, is the primary plant species along with some grasses. Analysis in 1993 observed that the original perennial shrubs once living there had shown no recovery. Satellite imagery such as that available in Google Earth, however, shows considerable growth on the ejecta blanket outside the crater rim.