The moon is revealing new secrets in a fresh perspective. NASA has captured a new image of the southern hemisphere showcasing a notable crater and providing a glimpse into some of the finest attractions for future explorations.
This composite image combines data from two different spacecraft orbiting the moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LROC) camera is a part of NASA’s orbiter, while ShadowCam is an instrument aboard the Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri orbiter, also known as the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.
Explore NASA’s detailed images showcasing the depth of Shackleton Crater on the moon, click to enlarge.
In addition to capturing the moon’s beauty, LROC excels in illuminating well-lit areas, while ShadowCam is specialized for revealing features and distances in challenging-to-observe regions.
“ShadowCam, being 200 times lighter than LROC, can operate at very low altitudes, allowing it to uncover details and distances that are invisible to LROC,” NASA stated on Tuesday.
Shackleton Crater, named after the famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, contains a deep shadow. Most images of this region feature a dark landscape, but ShadowCam has the ability to see deep into the crater. However, due to ShadowCam’s high power, it struggles to capture clear images of brightly lit areas. This is where the LROC’s capabilities come into play. NASA noted that the combined views provide an “unprecedented level of detail” in this region.
The Artemis program is currently in progress, with the goal of achieving the next milestone in human space exploration: the first crewed moon landing since the Apollo era of the 1960s and 1970s. NASA is exploring the southern region of the moon and has identified 13 potential landing sites, some of which are in close proximity to Shackleton Crater.
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One interesting feature of Shackleton Crater is that it contains ice at its bottom, making it a potentially valuable resource. Transporting water in significant quantities through the atmosphere is challenging, but harvesting water from the lunar surface could potentially sustain human life and supply rocket fuel for deep space travel powered by the sun.
NASA has already completed the Artemis I lunar orbiter test mission, and Artemis II is planned to involve astronauts orbiting our moon. The planned mission for Artemis III, set for 2025, aims to achieve a crewed landing on the moon. Future Artemis explorers can look at this photograph and envision the places where they will one day leave their footprints.
