Featured Images
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
Trundling Across the Moon
Tracks made by Lunokhod 2 as it tested for variations in local magnetic properties while traversing around a small crater (25.764°N, 30.474°E), M122007650R, image width 470 m [NASA/ GSFC/ Arizona State University].
Published on 23 May 2014
Sometimes You Just Need to Vent
Low reflectance material cascaded down the wall of what is likely a volcanic vent in the southwestern portion of the Orientale basin. Image width is approximately 750 m. LROC NAC image M1150135366 [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 15 Apr 2014
Small Clearing
LROC NAC M1144856403R of a mound littered with boulders located within the floor of Tycho crater. The small clearing, which lacks boulders, is most likely squeezed up impact melt. Image width is ~2400 ft (730 m) and North points up...
Published on 03 Apr 2014
Faulted Kipuka
This striking mountain within Mare Imbrium was altered at its base by the formation of a lobate scarp. A wrinkle ridge runs into the base of the mountain (bottom right). Image width is approximately 4.5 km. LROC NAC image M1098943917R...
Published on 21 Mar 2014
New Crater!
Four different NAC images of crater (18 meter diameter) formed on the Moon, 17 March 2013, each scene is 560 meters wide, north is up [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 14 Dec 2013
Station 6 - Apollo 17
Station 6 allowed Apollo 17 astronauts to explore a collection of boulders and regolith that represents the rocks from the mighty North Massif. Five large boulder fragments lie at the base of a long boulder trail, all from a single...
Published on 13 Dec 2013
Offset Floor of Buys-Ballot Crater
Ridge along the edge of Buys-Ballot crater floor. LROC NAC M1095343282L, image center 21.321°N, 175.152°E, image width 1.41 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 05 Dec 2013
Dark Ejecta
A 78 m diameter crater with distinct dark ejecta surrounding the crater rim. The crater formed in the highlands (31.131°S, 147.536°E) north of the crater Jules Verne, LRO NAC frame M1115555142L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 31 Oct 2013
LROC Coordinates of Robotic Spacecraft - 2013 Update
Luna 17, the spacecraft that carried the Lunokhod 1 rover to the surface. You can make out the rover tracks around the lander. LROC NAC image M175502049RE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 24 Sep 2013
Looking East Over Reiner Gamma
LROC NAC oblique image looking west to east over the Reiner Gamma Formation (7.409°N, 300.972°E, north is to the left). Image is ~22 km wide (M1127569280). Arrows highlight a scarp formed by thrust faulting [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State...
Published on 19 Sep 2013
Clerke Crater
Granular debris flows along the interior wall of Clerke crater. The crater floor is toward the upper left of the image. LROC NAC M183332397R, image width is ~2 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 05 Sep 2013
Snapshots From Space
Astronaut Cernan (UR, LR), Evans (UL, LR) and Schmitt (LL) relaxing in the Apollo 17 Command Module America after Cernan and Schmitt returned from three days of exploring the magnificent Taurus Littrow valley [NASA/ Arizona State...
Published on 25 Jul 2013
March of Time
Small white blotch with black center (in center of image) is likely a new impact crater formed during the LRO mission. Inset in lower left (38 meters wide) shows 4x enlargement. NAC M1117799545, 480 meters wide [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State...
Published on 20 May 2013
Impact!
The twin GRAIL spacecraft impacted the Moon on 17 December 2012, LROC was able to image the impact craters on 28 February 2013 showing them both to be about 5 meters in diameter. Upper panels show the area before the impact; lower...
Published on 19 Mar 2013
Boulder Fields
Boulders of various sizes (a few meters up to ~20 meters across) scattered across the lunar surface. From where do the boulders originate? NAC M170605553LR, image width 510 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 30 Jan 2013
Taurus Littrow Valley, West-To-East
The magnificent Taurus Littrow valley seen obliquely from west-to-east by the LROC NAC. The Apollo 17 crew briefly explored portions of this valley 40 years ago this month. M1096343661LR, image ~10 km across the center...
Published on 19 Dec 2012
Approach to Taurus Littrow Valley
View similar to what the Apollo 17 astronauts saw as they approached their landing in the magnificent Taurus Littrow Valley. LROC NAC east-to-west oblique image pair, about 18 km wide in center, M192703697LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State...
Published on 12 Dec 2012
The Old and the Young in Tsiolkovskiy
A recent impact narrowly missed an ancient extensional crack in Tsiolkovskiy crater (18.97°S; 130.34°E). Its crater is in the lower left. NAC frame M161455429R, illumination is from the east, north is up, image is 800 m wide...
Published on 30 Oct 2012
Bounce, Roll, and Stop
Boulders bounced and rolled down the interior wall of the crater Shuckburgh E leaving a diagnostic trail. LROC NAC M141885094R, image is 655 meters across [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 24 Oct 2012