![]() ![]() The satellite had a launch mass of about 1846 kg, and a dry mass of less than 949 kg. As of September 2015 it was in its second extended science mission. In September 2010 it started the science phase, where it was put into a quasi-stable, low-maintenance ~30 x 180 km orbit. The mission spent one year in a 30 - 70 km altitude lunar polar orbit, called the exploration phase of the mission. It entered an initial 5 hour orbit with a periselene altitude of roughly 100 km which was lowered into a 50 km circular orbit. LRO was put into a direct insertion trajectory and reached the Moon on 23 June at 09:43 UT (5:43 a.m. LRO launched along with its companion spacecraft, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), from Kennedy Space Center on 18 June 2009 on an Atlas 5 401 launch vehicle at 21:32 UT (5:32 p.m. A primary goal of the mission is to find landing sites suitable for in situ resource utilization (ISRU). The following measurements have the highest priority: characterization of deep space radiation environment in lunar orbit geodetic global topography high spatial resolution hydrogen mapping temperature mapping in polar shadowed regions imaging of surface in permanently shadowed regions identification of putative deposits of appreciable near-surface water ice in polar cold traps assessment of meter and smaller scale features for landing sites and characterization of polar region lighting environment. Apollo 12 astronauts even found the first meteorite ever discovered on another world, the Bench Crater carbonaceous chondrite.The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the first mission of NASA's Robotic Lunar Exploration Program, is designed to map the surface of the Moon and characterize future landing sites in terms of terrain roughness, usable resources, and radiation environment with the ultimate goal of facilitating the return of humans to the Moon. Astronauts bagged 842 pounds (382 kg) of Moon rocks, which represented everything from mare basalts to ancient highland rocks to impact-shattered rocks called breccias. All the landing sites lie on the near side of the Moon and were chosen to explore different geologic terrains. ![]() LRO's orbital imagery and photos taken in situ by the Apollo astronauts will serve to illuminate our ramblings from one Apollo site to the next. Top, clockwise: James Irwin salutes the flag at Hadley Rill Harrison Schmitt collects rock samples in the Taurus-Littrow Valley Buzz Aldrin's footprint in the lunar regolith Charlie Duke placed a photo of his family on the Moon and took a picture of it Edgar Mitchell photographs the desolate landscape of the Fra Mauro highlands and Pete Conrad jiggles the Surveyor 3 probe to see how firmly it's situated. Six Apollo missions successfully landed on and departed from the Moon between July 1969 and December 1972. Given that the largest piece of equipment left on the Moon after each mission was the 17.9-foot-high by 14-foot-wide Lunar Module, you can see the problem.ĭid I say problem? No problem for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which can dip as low as 31 miles (50 km) from the lunar surface, close enough to image each landing site in remarkable detail. ![]() In visible light, it's 0.05″, or closer to 300 feet. Hubble's 94.5-inch mirror has a resolution of 0.024″ in ultraviolet light, which translates to 141 feet (43 meters) at the Moon's distance. Not even the Hubble Space Telescope can discern evidence of the Apollo landings. They're the only places where humanity has achieved one of its oldest dreams and "touched the stars".Īs you're well aware, no telescope on Earth can see the leftover descent stages of the Apollo Lunar Modules or anything else Apollo-related. But here and there among the nooks and crannies, you'll find six of the most remarkable locales on the Moon - the Apollo landing sites. How can you ignore it? You've doubtless observed craters and mountain ranges and probed for volcanic features like rills and domes. We all love dark moonless skies, but let's face it, the Moon's out two weeks a month. ![]() Earth glows blue 240,000 miles in the distance. Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt with the American flag. ![]()
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