Askja Caldera

Background

History & Background

In March 1875 Askja erupted catastrophically, sending a massive column of ash over Iceland and parts of Scandinavia. The eruption was so devastating — killing livestock and ruining farmland across northeastern Iceland — that it triggered a wave of emigration, with thousands of Icelanders leaving for North America. NASA selected Askja and its surroundings as lunar training grounds in 1965 because the black basalt lava desert closely resembles the Moon's surface. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin trained here before the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Askja is a dramatic volcanic caldera in the remote Icelandic Highlands, accessible only via rugged F-roads in summer. The main attractions are two crater lakes: the large Öskjuvatn (Iceland's deepest at 220 meters) formed in the catastrophic 1875 eruption, and the smaller Víti, a geothermal crater with warm turquoise water where bathing is possible via a steep descent. NASA sent Apollo astronauts here in the 1960s to train for the moon landing due to the resemblance to lunar terrain.