Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA’s robotic spacecraft has orbited the Moon since 2009, mapping its surface and studying its radiation environment, temperatures, and water-related signals.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera: A camera system aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that images the Moon in narrow- and wide-angle views. Its narrow-angle cameras produced high-resolution images of landing sites and surface features.
Lunar south pole: The Moon’s southern polar region, containing terrain with unusual illumination and permanently shadowed areas. Orbital imagery and temperature maps help assess its potential resources and landing locations.
NASA: The United States government agency responsible for civilian space exploration and aeronautics research. NASA developed and operates the spacecraft as part of its lunar exploration program.
Apollo landing sites: Locations on the Moon where NASA’s Apollo missions landed astronauts between 1969 and 1972. LRO images show landing hardware, tracks, and surface disturbances at these historic sites.
Lunar Orbiter program: A series of five NASA spacecraft that photographed the Moon from orbit in 1966 and 1967. It mapped prospective Apollo sites decades before LRO’s much finer survey.
Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter: An instrument that measures lunar topography by timing laser pulses reflected from the surface. Its elevation profiles complement the orbiter’s photographic maps.
Permanently shadowed region: An area that never receives direct sunlight because of its location and local terrain. LRO instruments have mapped these cold traps as possible reservoirs of water ice.
Lunar Precursor Robotic Program: A NASA program that used robotic missions to gather data for future human exploration of the Moon. LRO was designed as a precursor mission within this exploration effort.
Lunar cartography: The measurement and representation of the Moon’s surface in maps and models. LRO greatly improved the global detail and consistency of lunar topographic mapping.
Clementine (spacecraft): A 1994 U.S. spacecraft that mapped the Moon and tested technologies for missile defense. Clementine provided an earlier global lunar survey with less detailed coverage.

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