Featured Images

First to See the Farside

First photograph (BW) taken of the famous Apollo 8 Earthrise sequence, the following images were acquired with color film [AS08-13-2329, NASA].

Published on 24 Dec 2021

Saturn 2021

Saturn and Jupiter have been a comforting presence in the evening sky for the past several months. On October 13, 2021, LRO slewed to allow LROC to acquire this magnificent view revealing Saturn and its rings. NAC M1388758232L...

Published on 22 Nov 2021

Chang'e 5: After Blast Off

Chang'e 5 descent stage seen just before sunset on 7 Februray 2021, M136736629LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 19 Feb 2021

Great Conjunction!

Yesterday afternoon (21 December 2020 21:15 UTC) LRO turned around and swept LROC across deep space to capture an amazing image of the Jupiter–Saturn conjunction. Saturn brightness increased 4x to match Jupiter; NAC M1363224501R...

Published on 22 Dec 2020

First Look: Chang'e 5

Box indicates Chang'e 5 lander on the basaltic plains of Oceanus Procellarum ("Ocean of Storms") on 02 December 2020 09:54 EST (14:53:55 UTC). The lander is the bright spot in the center of the outline. Image is 1210 meters wide; north...

Published on 04 Dec 2020

Keeps on Roving!

Arrows indicate Yutu-2 (left) and Chang'e 4 lander (right). Rover tracks are faintly visible between the lander and Yutu-2. LROC image acquired 18 October 2020, M1357657468LR, enlarged 2x [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 01 Dec 2020

Apollo 12 Fifty-first Anniversary

LROC low-altitude image of the Apollo 12 landing site. The Lunar Module descent stage, Apollo Lunar Science Experiment Package (ALSEP), and Surveyor III spacecraft are all visible along with astronaut tracks. Image is 275 meters wide,...

Published on 13 Nov 2020

Sea of Night

Rim of Aepinus crater rising above a sea of dark during a winter night. Illuminated area 1.5 kilometers by 6.0 kilometers, NAC M1338480133LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 19 May 2020

Vikram Lander Found

Vikram impact point and associated debris field. Green dots indicate spacecraft debris (confirmed or likely). Blue dots are locating disturbed soil, likely where small bits of the spacecraft churned up the regolith. "S" indicates debris...

Published on 02 Dec 2019

Longjiang-2 Impact Site Found!

The Longjiang-2 spacecraft (also known as DSLWP-B) crashed onto the lunar farside on 31 July 2019 after completing its orbital mission. This new crater was most likely the result of that impact. Image width 330 meters, north is up,...

Published on 14 Nov 2019

Dawn Over Bhabha Crater

Central peak complex of Bhabha crater (70 kilometer diameter) rising from the shadows of dawn, image snapped on 28 August 2019 from an altitude of 73 kiolmeters. View is seen from east-to-the west, north is to the right, visible portion...

Published on 22 Oct 2019

Obscured in the Lunar Highlands?

The Chandrayaan-2 lander, Vikram, attempted a landing September 7th Indian time (Friday the 6th in the United States), on a small patch of lunar highland smooth plains between Simpelius N and Manzinus C craters. Unfortunately the...

Published on 26 Sep 2019

What Lies Beneath

Spectacular contrasts of gray scale in the central peak of Jackson crater signal variations in both composition and maturity (degree of freshness of the surface). Image is 3100 meters wide, north is to the right, M1265842750LR...

Published on 19 Jul 2019

What Armstrong Saw

Simulated view of what Armstrong saw as the Lunar Module Eagle approached the aim point on the northeast flank of West crater (190 meters diameter). The odd shape of the image area is due to the small windows in the Eagle. North is to...

Published on 16 Jul 2019

How Spectacular is this View?!?!

Oblique view of what might be the most spectacular young crater on the Moon - Giordano Bruno. The imposing cliff in the background rises 3000 m above the melt pool seen in the middle ground (top of cliff not seen here). Scene is about 3...

Published on 15 Jul 2019

Yutu-2 Still on the Move!

Yutu-2 (horizontal arrow) was about 130 meters west of the Chang'e 4 lander (vertical arrow) on 3 June 2019. North is up, image is 495 meters wide and enlarged two times, M1314237625L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 27 Jun 2019

Beresheet Crash Site Spotted!

SpaceIL Beresheet crash site as seen by LROC eleven days after the attempted landing. Date in lower left indicates when the NAC image was acquired, M1310536929R [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 15 May 2019

Topographic Map of the Chang'e 4 Site

Topographic map of the Chang'e 4 landing site derived from LROC NAC stereo pair (M1303619844LR, M1303640934LR obtained on 1 February 2019). North is up, map is 5500 meters wide [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 30 Apr 2019

Chang'e 4 Rover on the Move

The Chang'e 4 rover, Yutu-2, moved between 1 February 2019 and 28 February 2019. The upper left panel (M1298916428L) shows the landing site before Chang'e 4 set down and the image in upper right panel (M1303619844L) has the best...

Published on 20 Mar 2019

Above the Landing Site

Looking down on the Chang'e 4 landing site; lander is just beyond tip of large arrow, rover at tip of small arrow. Image is 468 meters (1535 feet) across, 2x enlargement, LROC M1303619844LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 15 Feb 2019