Featured Images
The Apollo 15 Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector - A Fundamental Point on the Moon!
Close-up of the Apollo 15 landing site sowing the Falcon descent stage and other hardware from the mission. In this calibrated image the Lunar Laser Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) array appears as the (circled) tiny white rectangular...
Published on 13 Apr 2010
Graben and Pyroclastics in SW Mare Humorum
A small graben (28 m in width) in a pyroclastic mantling deposit in the SW portion of Mare Humorum. The image width is 500 m. NAC frame M111885077L obtained at an altitude of 44.7 km, illumination is from the right....
Published on 08 Apr 2010
Each crater tells a story
The unusual shapes of craters at the Flamsteed Constellation region of interest provide information about the thickness of the lunar regolith in this region. Image M111877836LE; scene width is 500 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 07 Apr 2010
Alphonsus crater mantled floor fracture
LROC NAC closeup of a fracture in the floor of Alphonsus crater. Dark pyroclastic materials are intermixed with lighter rocks and boulders from the fracture walls and all appear to have moved in streamers toward the fracture floor at...
Published on 02 Apr 2010
Hortensius Domes - Constellation Region of Interest
Summit crater of Hortensius Dome Phi. Summit craters of all the Hortensius Domes show no raised rims and are not circular, indicating they are not impact craters, rather that they are analogous to volcanic calderas. Image width 1.22 km,...
Published on 01 Apr 2010
Apollo Basin: Mare in a Sea of Highlands
High resolution LROC image of floor of the Apollo Basin, a large (538 km diameter) double-ringed impact crater in the southern hemisphere of the far side. This image shows part of the boundary between two flow units within the...
Published on 30 Mar 2010
Chain of secondary craters in Mare Orientale
A small secondary crater chain near the southwestern margin of Mare Orientale, within the Inner Rook Mountains. The ~125-meter-long chain lies within one of the Constellation Program regions of interest in the Orientale multi-ring...
Published on 29 Mar 2010
Two-toned Impact Crater in Balmer Basin: A Reflection of the Target?
Materials excavated during formation of this ~450 m diameter impact crater have an unusual two-toned character, likely a reflection of heterogeneity in the target materials. This crater occurs in Balmer Basin, an area thought to harbor...
Published on 26 Mar 2010
Luna 16
Soviet Luna 16 descent stage -- the first successful robotic lunar sample return spacecraft (NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University).
Published on 25 Mar 2010
Rocket impacts recorded by the Apollo seismic network
Bang! On April 14th 1970, the Apollo 13 Saturn IVB upper stage impacted the Moon North of Mare Cognitum, at -2.55° latitude, -27.88° East longitude. The impact crater, which is roughly 30 meters in diameter, is clearly visible in LROC...
Published on 22 Mar 2010
Surveyor 6 on the plains of Sinus Medii
Surveyor 6 casting 18-meter long shadow with Sun just 8° above the horizon, LROC NAC image M117501284L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 21 Mar 2010
Surveyor 5: A hole-in-one
Surveyor 5 sitting in a 10 meter diameter crater, LROC NAC image M106726943LE, width ~960 meters [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 21 Mar 2010
Luna 21 Lander
Luna 21 lander delivered the Lunokhod 2 rover to the floor of Le Monnier crater in January 1973, LROC NAC Image M122007650LE [NASA/GSFC/ Arizona State University].
Published on 19 Mar 2010
Soviet Union Lunar Rovers
Soviet robotic lander Luna 17 still sitting on Mare Imbrium where it delivered the Lunokhod 1 Rover in November 1970, LROC NAC Image M114185541RE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 17 Mar 2010
Soviet Union Lunar Sample Return Missions
On February 21, 1972, Luna 20 soft landed in the rugged highlands between Mare Fecunditatis and Mare Crisium. The next day a sample return capsule blasted off carrying 55 grams of lunar soil. The Luna 20 descent stage still sits...
Published on 15 Mar 2010
Crisium's Constellation Region of Interest
Boulders on a wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium may help us understand the geology of this Constellation region of interest. The scene is 460 meters across; image number M119469420LE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 11 Mar 2010
Marius Hills Pit - Lava Tube Skylight?
The Marius Hills pit is a possible skylight in a lava tube in an ancient volcanic region of the Moon called the Marius Hills. This LROC image is the highest resolution image of the pit to date. Image width is 1400 meters, NAC...
Published on 01 Mar 2010
Near the Summit of Malapert Mountain
The lunar highlands exhibit rhythmic patterns thought to result from slow, downslope creep of the loose regolith (soil). These subtle patterns are most easily seen when the Sun is low to the horizon. Image is 2400 meters wide, north is...
Published on 22 Feb 2010
Van de Graaff Constellation Crater wall Region of Interest
Wall of crater Van de Graaff C, where brighter material is exposed by more active processes associated with steeper slopes, recent small craters, and even individual rolling boulders. NAC image 112822306, image width 0.68 km...
Published on 11 Feb 2010
Intricate young ejecta blanket in ancient Murchison Crater
Overlapping petals of bright ejecta illustrate the complexity of ejecta emplacement, even in smaller impact events. The source crater is ~120 meters in diameter and lies on the floor of Murchison Crater, one of the Constellation...
Published on 09 Feb 2010