NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has returned data that indicate ice may make up as much as 22 percent of the surface material in a crater located on the moon's south pole.
The team of NASA and university scientists using laser light from LRO's laser altimeter examined the floor of Shackleton crater. They found the crater's floor is brighter than those of other nearby craters, which is consistent with the presence of small amounts of ice. This information will help researchers understand crater formation and study other uncharted areas of the moon. The findings are published in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature.
Caption: Elevation (left) and shaded relief (right) image of Shackleton, a 21-km-diameter (12.5-mile-diameter) permanently shadowed crater adjacent to the lunar south pole. The structure of the crater's interior was revealed by a digital elevation model constructed from over 5 million elevation measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
To read more go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/crater-ice.html
Credit: NASA/Zuber, M.T. et al., Nature, 2012
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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M Zoots, tlwmdbt, larryoien, and 70 other people added this photo to their favorites.
larryoien 12 months ago | reply
Stunning image!.. amazing technology!
Sunciti _ Sundaram's Images + Messages 12 months ago | reply
Amazing Information. Excellence In Image Presentation. Love It and I Like It. Thanks.
Cliff's Photography, Thank you friends!! 12 months ago | reply
Awesome image and perspective!
Kassia Felix 12 months ago | reply
Awesome!
Pyrrhos 12 months ago | reply
I wish I could do that photographic trick !
Creative Photography by Irene OFF/ON 12 months ago | reply
amazing technology and brilliant image, thanks for sharing!
jimberneike 12 months ago | reply
Wow! What an other-worldly image. The detail is fascinating.
dodagp 12 months ago | reply
So impressive and spectacular !!!!
Σταύρος 12 months ago | reply
Simply amazing !!
mvidarus 11 months ago | reply
This is a computer-made image based on altimetry data, not a photograph. The left side is colour graded with the warmest colours representing the highest terrain. The right side is a photorealistic rendering made to simulate a fixed light source.