NASA re-released the 4K moon tour

Collected from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter space station since 2009, researchers from the Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA used data from the Moon to create a virtual tour of the natural satellite of the Earth. The video sequence was accompanied by information about known craters and other objects. The resolution of the video - 4K. The original video file is available on the NASA website .


In the video, NASA experts talk about a number of interesting places that, in their opinion, best characterize the features of the lunar surface. Some of the objects can be observed from the Earth, they are studied not only by professionals, but also by amateurs. This objects are located on the opposite side from the Earth.

The video shows large and old objects, such as the East Sea Basin and the South Pole-Aitken Basin , and the younger craters Tycho and Aristarch . With the help of visualization, the mineral composition of the Aristarkh Plateau is noted, evidence of the existence of water ice at the South Pole. The landing sites of the Apollo missions near the equator turned out to be displayed with a resolution of up to 25 centimeters per pixel.

In the fall of 2011, the Tour of The Moon was first introduced, made according to the LRO data as an animated video. A new video is a re-release in 4K, made with the help of material collected over the years of the station.

The automatic interplanetary station Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been in orbit of the Moon since June 23, 2009. The purpose of the work of the orbiter is to collect data about the Moon with the aim of the subsequent return of a person to it. Among the equipment is a device for measuring the harmful effects of cosmic rays and solar radiation on biological objects (The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment), a device for measuring thermal radiation and its changes (The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment), data from which are needed for planning human activities on surface, a device made in Russia for measuring the content of hydrogen atoms in the surface of the moon and mapping these data (The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector). And, of course, The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera is a three-camera system that helps to explore the surface and look for sites suitable for landing and base construction.


The first photo of the moon, taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. A source

Among the tasks of LRO is the study of the sites on which man and unmanned vehicles of objects left during expeditions to the moon survived.


Initially, the device had to work in the orbit of the moon for a year, then act as a repeater for another five years. But the device has continued to serve for almost nine years, helping to build high-precision maps with a resolution of 0.5 meters, measure radiation and look for deposits of ice.