Named after Peter Simon Pallas - German-born Russian geologist, natural historian (1741-1811).
Pallas is a heavily eroded lunar crater located to the north of the Sinus Medii. To the northwest is the smaller but less worn crater Bode. Pallas shares a low wall with the crater Murchison that is attached to the southeast, and there are two gaps in the shared rim. The outer wall is worn, notched, and somewhat distorted in shape. (wikipedia entry)
A crater is a circular depression likely created by an impact event. On the Moon they are named after deceased scientists, polar explorers, astronauts or cosmonauts.
