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NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter transmits first moon images
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted its first images since reaching the moon on 23 June 2009. The spacecraft's two cameras, collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, were activated 30 June. The cameras are working well and have returned images of a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds).
As the moon rotates beneath LRO, LROC gradually will build up photographic maps of the lunar surface.
'Our first images were taken along the moon's terminator - the dividing line between day and night - making us initially unsure of how they would turn out,' said LROC Principal Investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University in Tempe. 'Because of the deep shadowing, subtle topography is exaggerated, suggesting a craggy and inhospitable surface. In reality, the area is similar to the region where the Apollo 16 astronauts safely explored in 1972. While these are magnificent in their own right, the main message is that LROC is nearly ready to begin its mission.'
The image shows cratered regions near the moon's Mare Nubium region, as photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LROC instrument. It shows a region 1,400 metres wide. The bottom of the image faces lunar north.
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