Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
hideThe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a robotic spacecraft launched by NASA, currently orbiting the Moon. The unmanned launch of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program occurred on June 18, 2009, the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO is the first mission of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. To successfully attain the goals of "The Vision", including human exploration of the Moon, LRO will orbit the Moon, survey lunar resources, and identify possible landing sites. The orbiting probe will be able to provide a 3-D map of the Moon's surface and has provided some of the first images of Apollo equipment left on the Moon. The LRO Atlas V launch vehicle also carries the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which is designed to detect water liberated when the launch vehicle's spent upper stage strikes a lunar crater. Together, LCROSS and LRO form the vanguard of the NASA Lunar Precursor Robotic Program's return to the Moon.
The first images taken by the LRO were published on the July 2, 2009, aimed at the region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds). On July 17, 2009, some images of the Apollo landing sites were released.
For more information about Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, read the full article at
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News tagged with lunar reconnaissance orbiter
Southern Arizona Telescopes Will Point at Lunar Impact Early Friday
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers at the some of the best ground-based telescopes in southern Arizona plan to observe two lunar impacts at 4:30 a.m. and 4:34 a.m. Arizona time Friday.
NASA shoots the moon to track lunar spacecraft
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 24, 2009 |
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28 times per second, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center fire a laser that travels about 250,000 miles to hit the minivan-sized Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft moving at nearly 3,600 ...
New NASA temperature maps provide 'whole new way of seeing the moon'
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's first-ever moon temperature-mapping effort has returned its first data.
NASA Lunar Satellite Begins Detailed Mapping of Moon's South Pole
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA reported Thursday that its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed its testing and calibration phase and entered its mapping orbit of the moon.
NASA's LCROSS Reveals Target Crater For Lunar South Pole Impacts
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has selected a final destination for its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, after a journey of nearly 5.6 million miles that included several orbits around Earth ...
Apollo 12 and Surveyor 3
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 03, 2009 |
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Four months after the success of Apollo 11, NASA launched Apollo 12 in November 1969. Almost exactly 40 years later, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has seen the landing site.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's first moon images available
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted its first images since reaching the moon on June 23. The spacecraft's two cameras, collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ...
NASA's new moon probe sends back moon shots
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- NASA's new lunar probe launched less than a week ago has already sent back some shots of the moon.
LRO lunar mission successfully enters moon orbit
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 23, 2009 |
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After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered orbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., ...
New NASA Missions to Reach Moon Tuesday, Sending Back Live Video
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Two NASA spacecraft will reach major mission milestones early Tuesday morning as they approach the moon -- one will send back live streaming imagery via the Internet as it swings by the moon, ...
NASA Details Plans for Lunar Exploration Robotic Missions
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's return to the moon will get a boost in June with the launch of two satellites that will return a wealth of data about Earth's nearest neighbor. On Thursday, the agency outlined the ...
NASA Lunar Spacecraft Ships South in Preparation for Launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft was loaded on a truck Wednesday to begin its two-day journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for April ...
NASA Tests Moon Imaging Spacecraft at Goddard
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 01, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, also known as LRO, has completed the first round of environmental testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. These tests ensure the ...
