Van der Waals (Moon)

Named after Johannes Diderik Waals - Dutch physicist; Nobel laureate (1837-1923).

Van der Waals is a lunar crater on the far side. It is a heavily eroded feature with an irregular outer rim. The edge is lowest along the southern side where it is little more than a circular crest along the ground. It is more developed along the northern side, but the rim is notched and rugged. (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.