NASA releases detailed photos of the moon's south pole
Miscellaneous / / May 06, 2023
High-quality shots were made thanks to the sunlight reflected from the Earth.
NASA shared images of craters at the south pole of the moon. They show shadowed areas of the satellite with never-before-seen details.
The footage was taken with an ultra-sensitive optical camera ShadowCam. It is installed on the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) spacecraft, which was launched in August 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
This camera is capable of capturing high quality images even in areas that are not exposed to direct sunlight. And for the first time she managed to demonstrate the Shackleton crater in all its glory. In the photo, you can even see the trace of a boulder rolling down the slope.
Other objects in recent images: craters Bruce, Marvin and Aristarchus. NASA noted that even with the impressive capabilities of ShadowCam, help is needed to study some of the deeply shadowed areas of the moon. One of the auxiliary sources is sunlight reflected from the Earth. Thanks to this, it was possible to capture all these objects.
New images were obtained during the mission Artemis 1, in which NASA tested equipment to get astronauts to the moon, including the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.
The next major test of the Artemis system will be the Artemis 2 mission, during which the Orion will deliver its first crew into space. Astronauts will make a ten-day test flight to the moon, but will not land on its surface. The landing is to take place as part of the Artemis 3 mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2025.
Read also🧐
- A place with a comfortable temperature for humans has been discovered on the moon
- SpaceX sends first fully civilian crew into orbit
- Elon Musk's SpaceX to send astronauts to the moon