Smooth Floor in Copernicus Crater

With the exception of recent impacts (such as this one) into the floor material of Copernicus, much of the northwestern floor of Copernicus appears smooth and relatively featureless (upper right corner). This region on the crater floor appears similar to mare basalt flows, but studies show that volcanism has not shaped the landscape of Copernicus' interior. Instead, it is possible that a vast volume of impact melt was created during impact and cooled differentially across the crater floor such that some areas appear smooth while others are hummocky. LROC NAC M135317661L, image width is 520 meters (1706 feet).

Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Apollo 11 Landing Site by SMART-1

This lunar map is a mosaic of images taken by the Advanced Moon Imaging Experiment (AMIE) on board ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft. The image shows the landing site of Apollo 11 and three prominent craters in the vicinity which have been named in honor of the astronauts on board the first mission to land humans on the Moon.

Note that the images were acquired during different orbits and therefore at different lunar times with varying lighting conditions. This is particularly noticeable in the shadows that are cast: in the images that make up the top left of the map, the shadows fall to the right, whereas the shadows in the images making up the bottom of the map, fall to the left.

Image Details:

Source Image Orbit Numbers
92, 93, 1752, 1882, 1885, 1888 and 2086

Source Image Resolution
125-127 meters per pixel

Map Coverage:
22 -26 degrees East longitude
0 – 3 degrees North latitude

Apollo 11 Landing Site:
23.47297 degrees East longitude
0.67408 degrees North latitude

Photo credit: ESA/SMART-1/Space-X (Space Exploration Institute)

South Pole Mosaic

This mosaic is composed of images of the lunar south pole, taken between May 2005 and February 2006, during different phases of the mission and from a distance of about 400 km, allowing medium-field snapshots (about 40 km across) and high-resolution views (40 m/pixel) of the region. From 109 of 113 SMART-1 images of the Shackleton area taken during the season, an illuminated peak - located 7 km from the Shackleton rim - was identified. This "Peak of (almost) Eternal Light" could be used to supply electricity - via solar panels - for a future international lunar base.

Photo credit: ESA/SMART-1/AMIE

Hadley Rille by SMART-1

Sinuous rilles are probably the most recognizable of small volcanic features on the Moon. Many partially resemble river valleys on Earth. The rilles mark lava channels or collapsed lava tubes that formed during mare volcanism. Lunar samples indicate that the Moon has always been dry, thus confirming the volcanic origin of the rilles.

This image shows Hadley Rille, the sinuous depression running across the top half of this image. Below it are the Apennine mountains (1-2-km in height). The large crater in the center of the image is the 5.5 km diameter Hadley C crater.

SMART-1 measurements were used for cross-calibration with in-situ data from the Apollo 15 landing site, near the upper right bend of the rille in this image.

Location: The feature is centered at: 25.0° N 3.0° E.

Photo credit: ESA/SMART-1/AMIE