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Jul 2, 2009 03:20 PM | 7
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which reached its destination just last week, is already showing its stuff.
The space agency switched on the LRO's cameras two days ago and today released the first images from the orbiter's mission, which is intended to pave the way for the return of astronauts to the moon.
The LRO snapped surface images near the Sea of Clouds (Mare Nubium) in the moon's southern hemisphere as day gave way to night. The intense shadowing caused by the sun's low angle makes for a dramatic moonscape that exaggerates the contours of the surface features.
The satellite's cameras will map the moon using a suite of instruments that will produce detailed (0.5 meter, or 20 inches, per pixel) black-and-white images as well as wider-angle color photographs of the lunar surface.
Both of the images here, which come from the LRO's high-resolution Narrow Angle Cameras, show an area 1,400 meters (0.87 mile) across.
The photos above and at right are available in greater detail on NASA's Web site, and Bad Astronomy blogger Phil Plait points out that a hyper-zoomable, scrollable image is available here.
Photo credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
Tags:
LRO,
LCROSS,
return to the moon,
vision for space exploration
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7 Comments
Add CommentGood. I'm dying to see high res photos of the area where the Apollo missions landed. Google Moon has horrible retouched images, far worse that the resolution of Google Mars.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisQuestion: ever wonder why NASA has to 'release the images to the public'? I wonder that. It's just the moon, right?
Looks great.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder how long it will be before I can vacation there?
Dave
Great pictures.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder how long it will be before I can have a vacation there?
I would love to see pictures of the landing site for Apollo 11. That would end the controversy that the landing was done on a stage here on earth. I remember being awoken by my father as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their way on to the surface. Thanks dad for not allowing me to miss that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUnfortunately, no amount of photographic evidence will silence the conspiracy theorists. They will immediately label the photographs as fraudulent and claim a larger-than-ever conspiracy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only way to convince them is to physically take them to the Sea of Tranquility before anyone else has a chance to go there and plant 'false evidence'.
Do you remember what the US Congresswoman asked NASA? "Why didn't the Mars rovers drive to the spot where the Astronauts left flags behind?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs Homer would say, "Doh!"
I would love to vacation on the Moon.
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