Featured Images

LROC PDS Release Number 5

LROC WAC mosaic centered on Orientale basin. From the center of the mosaic to a corner is about 2000 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 15 Mar 2011

Farside! And all the way around

The lunar farside as never seen before! LROC WAC orthographic projection centered at 180° longitude, 0° latitude [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 11 Mar 2011

Nearside Spectacular!

LROC WAC mosaic of the lunar nearside [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 21 Feb 2011

Wrinkle Ridges in Aitken Crater!

Mare basalts and hummocky ejecta both displaying wrinkle ridges in Aitken crater. NAC M105730242, image width is 1.6 km, Sun is from upper left [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 20 Jan 2011

Aitken Central Peak, Seen Obliquely

Southern end of Aitken crater central peak complex. The upper left is about 1000 meters above the crater floor, which is just seen at lower right. Bright material (high albedo) may be a landslide of local soil, or a secondary impact...

Published on 17 Jan 2011

South Pole Illumination Map

Multi-temporal illumination map of the lunar south pole, Shackleton crater (19 km diameter) is in the center, the south pole is located approximately at 9 o'clock on its rim. Mapped area extends from 88°S to 90°S [NASA/GSFC/Arizona...

Published on 15 Dec 2010

The Lunar North Pole

Summer-time at the lunar north pole captured by the LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC), width ~600 km, latitude ranges from 80°N to 90°N [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 05 Oct 2010

The Lunar South Pole

LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) mosaic of the south polar region, width ~600 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 27 Sep 2010

The Moon's largest impact basin

A crater within a crater within a basin: the interior of the South Pole-Aitken basin is one of the most compelling destinations on the Moon. NAC image M103196768LE; scene width is 520 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 13 Jul 2010

The Earth from the Moon

The Earth as seen from the Moon! LROC NAC mosaic of images snapped on 12 June 2010 during a calibration sequence, E130954785L and E130954785R [NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University].

Published on 24 Jun 2010

Hunting for Ancient Lunar Impact Basins

Fig. 1: A lesser-known impact basin, Freundlich-Sharonov, is visible in this Digital Terrain Model (DTM) made from LROC WAC stereo images, and darker shades represent lower elevations than brighter shades. The diameter of the...

Published on 09 Jun 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

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

Peary Crater: Greetings from the North Pole of the Moon

A junction between the rims of three craters on the floor of Peary crater near the lunar north pole is evident in this NAC image (M101955359L). Note the mottled texture of the regolith. Peary is a key exploration site for future...

Published on 24 Dec 2009

Lunar South Pole - Out of the Shadows

As the Moon heads into southern summer the region around the south pole is better seen by LROC. One of the many goals of the LRO mission is to improve our cartographic knowledge of the Moon. The location of the pole shown here (image...

Published on 17 Sep 2009

Eternal Darkness Near the North Pole

Small portion of the rim of Erlanger crater (10 km in diameter). Much of its floor remains in permanent shadow due to its location near the north pole. Image width 2.65 km, north is up [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Published on 24 Aug 2009

Scanning towards the north pole

On July 4th the LROC Narrow Angle Camera scanned its way towards the north pole at an altitude of 187 km, brushing past the crater Rozhdestvenskiy W.

Published on 07 Jul 2009