New Series of LRO Images Available

As experts at NASA work around the clock to make Project Constellation, with all of its components, a tangible reality, scientists managing the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), currently in orbit around the Moon, are fulfilling their part of the mission flawlessly. Just recently, the team announced that it would begin publicizing a new Featured Images series on Earth's natural satellite, which would highlight some of the most interesting places on the body's surface. In addition, a number of images showing potential landing sites will be shown to the public as well.

Before the orbiter took off, experts managing the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instrument aboard the spacecraft were given a list of about 50 potential landing sites. All these locations had been pre-selected by NASA experts as possible landing sites. It was the job of the team behind the LROC to image these sites in as greater detail as possible, so that mission planners for Project Constellation could make the best possible decision on where to land next. Each of the regions now has its own, comprehensive set of data.

The new information isn't just comprised of highly-detailed maps. They also feature vital info such as the distribution of boulders on and near the potential landing sites, maps of the slopes leading to and from these areas, as well as digital models of the terrain at the locations. This knowledge will help those planning where to send the Altair Lunar Lander, attached to the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, but also experts seeking to set the foundations for new missions to the Moon, involving rovers or static landers, Space Fellowship reports.

Only some of the 50 locations are being seriously considered as landing sites. However, all of them made the list because of their potential. Experts behind this effort say that these sites constitute an encyclopedia of various types of lunar terrain, as well as the most diverse sample study possible, of locations that may contain high value resources. NASA is currently planning to return to the Moon by 2020, as long as ARES I, ARES V, Orion and Altair are each ready at their respective contract termination dates. Otherwise, we could see up to five years in delays, analysts say.