Posted on 09/06/2011 12:39:28 PM PDT by ZGuy
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites. Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface.
This interactive shows two LRO images of the Apollo 17 landing site. Click and drag on the white slider bar to wipe from one to the other. The left image was released today; the right image is a zoom-in on an LRO image released in 2009. LRO was moved into a lower orbit to capture the new image. The images do not line up perfectly because of differences in lighting conditions, angle of the LRO Camera, and other variables. Image brightness and contrast have been altered to highlight surface details. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU)
At the Apollo 17 site, the tracks laid down by the lunar rover are clearly visible, along with the last foot trails left on the moon. The images also show where the astronauts placed some of the scientific instruments that provided the first insight into the moon's environment and interior.
"We can retrace the astronauts' steps with greater clarity to see where they took lunar samples," said Noah Petro, a lunar geologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who is a member of the LRO project science team.
All three images show distinct trails left in the moon's thin soil when the astronauts exited the lunar modules and explored on foot. In the Apollo 17 image, the foot trails, including the last path made on the moon by humans, are easily distinguished from the dual tracks left by the lunar rover, which remains parked east of the lander.
"The new low-altitude Narrow Angle Camera images sharpen our view of the moon's surface," said Arizona State University researcher Mark Robinson, principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). "A great example is the sharpness of the rover tracks at the Apollo 17 site. In previous images the rover tracks were visible, but now they are sharp parallel lines on the surface."
This interactive shows two LRO images of the Apollo 12 landing site. Click and drag on the white slider bar to wipe from one to the other. The left image was released today; the right image is a zoom-in on an LRO image released in 2009. LRO was moved into a lower orbit to capture the new image. The images do not line up perfectly because of differences in lighting conditions, angle of the LRO Camera, and other variables. Image brightness and contrast have been altered to highlight surface details. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU)
At each site, trails also run to the west of the landers, where the astronauts placed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) to monitor the moon's environment and interior.
This equipment was a key part of every Apollo mission. It provided the first insights into the moon's internal structure, measurements of the lunar surface pressure and the composition of its atmosphere. Apollo 11 carried a simpler version of the science package.
One of the details that shows up is a bright L-shape in the Apollo 12 image. It marks the locations of cables running from ALSEP's central station to two of its instruments. Although the cables are much too small for direct viewing, they show up because they reflect light very well.
NASA Goddard's Dr. Noah Petro discusses the significance of the new Apollo images from LRO. (Credit: Chris Smith, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) › Download this and related videos in broadcast quality from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio
The higher resolution of these images is possible because of adjustments made to LRO's orbit, which is slightly oval-shaped or elliptical. "Without changing the average altitude, we made the orbit more elliptical, so the lowest part of the orbit is on the sunlit side of the moon," said Goddard's John Keller, deputy LRO project scientist. "This put LRO in a perfect position to take these new pictures of the surface."
The maneuver lowered LRO from its usual altitude of approximately 31 miles (50 kilometers) to an altitude that dipped as low as nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) as it passed over the moon's surface. The spacecraft has remained in this orbit for 28 days, long enough for the moon to completely rotate. This allows full coverage of the surface by LROC's Wide Angle Camera. The cycle ends today when the spacecraft will be returned to its 31-mile orbit.
The paths left by astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on both Apollo 14 moon walks are visible in this image. (At the end of the second moon walk, Shepard famously hit two golf balls.) The descent stage of the lunar module Antares is also visible. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU)
"These images remind us of our fantastic Apollo history and beckon us to continue to move forward in exploration of our solar system," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
LRO was built and managed by Goddard. Initial research was funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In September 2010, after a one-year successful exploration mission, the mission turned its attention from exploration objectives to scientific research in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Incorrect. NASA's peak budget year was 1966 at $32 billion in constant dollars equaling 4.41% of the federal budget. Today it is $18 billion equaling 0.49% of the budget.
I was looking forward to this movie until I read the user reviews from our local theatre. They all said it was very boring so I'll wait for it on Netflix.
Such a great idea for a good film though, so I'm sure that this will become another urban myth.
it sucked...
Have they been able to locate the rover and if so was it on blocks?
thanks ZGuy.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Sees Apollo Landing Sites
www.nasa.gov
Posted on 07/20/2010 9:45:53 AM PDT by Elderberry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2555879/posts
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Now to really freak him out; ask this. Are the inner cities better places now after spending billions of dollars over 4 decades?
Did it LBJ's plan work?
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Interesting innit? I saw this, thought to ping it to you, got distracted, the rest is history.
The name of this photography mission is the Lunar Reconnaissance Mission (LRO), and its purpose was to create a detailed map of the moon for the then-soon-to-be return to the moon. Then this Administration cancelled Exploration. So we get the pictures, but not the people :(
100,000’s of contractors.
Ooops..... I missed a couple of zeros.
Emphasizes my point even better. Thanks.
[giggles] I love you, Joe.
Great pix and thread, Civ. Thanks for the link.
Thirty billion a year for 40 years is $1.2 trillion.
—Your debunking ignores the simple fact that nowhere NEAR the amount of walking around necessary to cover up those rover tracks happened in the area in the foreground in the 24 hours between the photos.—
I apologize. I thought you were being sarcastic. I was just having fun with someone I thought was doing what I was doing. I did not know you were serious.
I don’t argue this one, or the 9/11 thing with conspiracy theorists. I’ve seen those artifacts on the moon and touched them. It was a tourist stopover on my way to Earth. It is a fascinating relic from a very, VERY brief moment in your planet’s history.
And I’m not going to share with you how so many of us can visit there and leave no sign of our presence. You folks will figure it out on your own in about 15 years.
Notice the absence of stars and the shadows going in different directions? NASA was clever, but I've got the proof.
:’)
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