Featured Images
'Shaping' Lunar Science with Vector Data
Twenty new shapefiles created by the LROC Team are now available! A few of the shapefiles shown here include mare age units, footprints of digital terrain models (DTMs), and the locations of small geologic features such as...
Published on 18 Jul 2017
NAC Anaglyph: Mare Shoreline in Apollo Basin
A portion of the southwestern mare "shoreline" in the Apollo basin on the farside. This contact between ancient lava plains and a remnant crater rim shows the lunar surface as a land of contrasts -- of expansive plains and jutting...
Published on 30 Jun 2017
New View of Rare Volcanism on the Moon
The Compton-Belkovich Volcanic Complex central caldera complex was first discovered in LROC images (61.20° N, 100.27° E; WAC mosaic with NAC image M103852760R in the center). Variations in the reflectance values were used to estimate...
Published on 05 Jun 2017
Spacecraft Related Coordinates - 2016 Update
Luna 17, the intrepid lander that carried the Lunokhod 1 rover to the surface. You can make out the rover's tracks around the lander, the tight circles were formed as the Earth-bound drivers tested out the maneuverability of their just...
Published on 25 Nov 2016
What's Next for LRO?
LRO and LROC will continue to explore the Moon during the mission's third extended mission to understand fundamental processes that shape our Solar System.
Published on 22 Aug 2016
Lunar Exploration: Planning The Next Steps
Optimal traverse located around persistently illuminated points on the rim of Shackleton crater (SR-1, SR-2, and SR-3) and the connecting ridge between Shackleton and de Gerlache crater (CR-1, CR-2, and CR-3) as well as a permanently...
Published on 13 Jul 2016
Regolith Porosity from Orbit
Apollo 11 photograph of boot-print in the lunar regolith (cropped version of AS11-40-5878).
Published on 08 Jun 2016
What a Blast! – Revisiting the Chang'e 3 Landing Site
View of the Chang'e-3 landing site from the LROC NAC. The region around the lander was brightened from the interaction of rocket exhaust with the regolith. Scene is approximately 240 m across, located at 44.121°N, 340.488°E. NAC image...
Published on 13 May 2016
Making an Impact
Light plains (outlined in yellow) are smooth, gently rolling deposits located in the lunar highlands. Their resemblance to mare ponds (outlined in blue) originally led to the idea that they were volcanic in origin. Image width is...
Published on 06 May 2016
Swirls Across the Moon
The swirls of Reiner Gamma, shown in enhanced color (415 nm, 321/415 nm, 321/360 nm in red, green, and blue, respectively) from the LROC Wide Angle Camera, overlaid on a monochrome mosaic. Scence is 108 km across and centered at 6.6° N,...
Published on 03 May 2016
Mt. Marilyn: Navigating to the Surface
NAC mosaic of Mt. Marilyn, a key navigation landmark during the Apollo 11 Moon landing, scene is 30 km wide.
Published on 04 Jan 2016
Found! Apollo 16 S-IVB Impact Crater
Newly discovered Apollo 16 S-IVB stage impact crater, image is 400 m wide, north is up (M183689432L)
Published on 02 Dec 2015
LADEE Impact Crater Found!
LADEE impact site on the eastern rim of Sundman V crater, the spacecraft was heading west when it impacted the surface. The image was created by ratioing two images, one taken before the impact and another after the impact. The bright...
Published on 28 Oct 2014
New Evidence For Young Lunar Volcanism!
One of many newly-discovered young volcanic deposits on the Moon (4.330°N, 33.750°E), this example is near the crater Maskelyne. The direction of sunlight is from the right and north is up, NAC M1123370138R [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State...
Published on 12 Oct 2014
The Chang'e 3 Landing Site in 3D
Slope map overlain on an LROC NAC image of the Chang'e 3 landing site at 44.12°N, 340.49°E in Mare Imbrium. The Chinese spacecraft landed just to the east of the large crater near the center. Slopes range from zero (blue) to...
Published on 07 Oct 2014
Two Faces of Mars (from the Moon)
Moon-facing hemisphere of Mars on 8 May 2014 at 14:27:04 UTC seen from lunar orbit! Instruments on LRO sometimes use stars and planets for calibration or other special observations. During one of these off-Moon observations, LROC...
Published on 30 Sep 2014
Small Step or Giant Leap?
A house-sized boulder (more than 30 m in diameter) left a clear impression (arrow) in the lunar surface. This boulder was thrown a relatively short distance (500 m) to the east of a young 1.6-km crater (rim crest to the left); LROC NAC...
Published on 21 Jul 2014
Five Years Later: Revisiting an Old Friend
A portion of LROC's first image (M101013931), acquired five years ago today. This region of the rim of Shackleton crater near the lunar South Pole is illuminated over 70% of the time, while the floor of the crater is permanently...
Published on 03 Jul 2014
The Original Interplanetary Mountaineers
Traverse plots of the first two Apollo 15 EVAs, on which astronauts Scott and Irwin ventured to the lower slopes of Mons Hadley Delta (center left); numbers indicate elevations above the landing site (LM) (oblique LROC NAC M1123519889;...
Published on 20 Jun 2014
Soaring Over Mighty Mt. Hadley
An oblique view, looking east-to-west over the Apennine Mountains towards Hadley Rille (upper left) (LROC NAC M1123519889, north is to the right). A long shadow is cast by mighty Mt. Hadley (center right). Nestled between the Apennines...
Published on 18 Jun 2014