NASA Creates the Highest Resolution Picture of the Moon

The US are determined to put another manned mission on the surface of the Moon by 2020. The most likely landing location? The rim area of Shackleton Crater, near the South Pole. But, first, NASA has some probing to do with the help of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (which is due to launch in October this year) and ground based radar dishes. Yesterday, the US space agency released what is now the highest resolution image of the Moon ever, having a resolution of about 20 meters per pixel.

The research was made by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, with the help of the Goldstone Solar System Radar, which generated enough information to create an animation of the region near Shackleton Crater, and another one of a landing, executed by a manned lunar module on the rim area of the crater. It seems that the polar regions of the Moon are more rugged than previously thought.

According to Doug Cooke, deputy associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA, certain regions of the south pole of the Moon have crater floors four time deeper than the Grand Canyon in the US. However, rugged terrain requires careful planning.

The Goldstone 70-meter radio dish in the Mojave Desert was scrutinizing the respective region for about six month during the year 2006, covering an area equal to about 400 to 640 kilometers. The radar facility is capable of emitting radio signals as powerful as 500 kilowatt, in 90 minutes long pulses. After traveling the 370,880 kilometers to the Moon and back, the signals were collected after two and a half seconds by two additional 34-meter antennas, also located on Goldstone.

The previous high resolution image of the Moon record holder was represented by a photograph of the Moon taken by the Clementine spacecraft. It pictures a south region of the Moon with a resolution of 1 kilometer per pixel, meaning it is 50 times less detailed than the image released yesterday.

Further mapping and imaging of the Moon will be provided by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will be capable of producing images with resolutions of 1 meter per pixel. Additionally, these images of the Moon will have the role of providing with enhanced information regarding the illumination of the polar regions or to identify potential resources and hazards. NASA LRO will also collect data related to the surface temperatures and radiation levels. NASA benefits from the collaboration with JAXA, which provides with valuable data through its lunar orbiter, Kaguya.