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LRO Latest Results Briefing
09.16.10
› NASA press release
› Listen to the conference live online
Briefing Speakers
› Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
› James Head, professor of geological sciences, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
› Benjamin Greenhagen, scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
› Timothy Glotch, assistant professor of geosciences, Stony Brook University, N.Y.
› Richard Vondrak, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Images and Multimedia in Support of the News Conference
Presenter: Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
No visuals.
Presenter: James Head, professor of geological sciences, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Figure 1: Using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), NASA scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive catalog of large craters on the moon. In this animation, created with LOLA elevation data, lunar craters larger than 20km in diameter "light up." Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown
› View animation (6.3 MB mov)
› Larger image
› Print resolution (50 MB tif)
› Download broadcast versions
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Figure 2: A lunar topographic map showing one of the most densely cratered regions on the Moon. The topography is derived from over 2.4 billion shots made by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These most heavily cratered areas are among the best candidates to study and explore to understand the earliest lunar history. Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown › Larger image › Print resolution |
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Figure 3: A lunar topographic map showing the Orientale basin (930 km diameter), the largest young impact basin on the Moon. This young basin formed from a projectile that impacted the Moon about 3.8 billion years ago, and penetrated deeply into the lunar crust, ejecting millions of cubic kilometers of material into the surrounding areas. The topography is derived from over 2.4 billion shots made by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These large basins show the effects of such impacts on early planetary crusts in the inner solar system, including the Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown › Larger image › Print resolution |
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Figure 4: A lunar topographic map showing the Moon from the vantage point of the eastern limb. On the left side of the Moon seen in this view is part of the familiar part of the Moon observed from Earth (the eastern part of the nearside). In the middle left-most part of the globe is Mare Tranquillitatis (light blue) the site of the Apollo 11 landing, and above this an oval-appearing region (Mare Serenitatis; dark blue) the site of the Apollo 17 landing. Most of the dark blue areas are lunar maria, low lying regions composed of volcanic lava flows that formed after the heavily cratered lunar highlands (and are thus much less cratered). The topography is derived from over 2.4 billion shots made by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The large near-circular basins show the effects of the early impacts on early planetary crusts in the inner solar system, including the Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown › Larger image › Print resolution |
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Figure 5: A lunar topographic map showing the Moon from the vantage point of the eastern limb. In this view, the yellow circles represent some of the 5185 craters equal to or greater than 20 km found on the Moon and counted in this study. On the left side of the Moon seen in this view is part of the familiar part of the Moon observed from Earth (the eastern part of the nearside). In the middle left-most part of the globe is Mare Tranquillitatis (light blue) the site of the Apollo 11 landing, and above this an oval-appearing region (Mare Serenitatis; dark blue) the site of the Apollo 17 landing. Most of the dark blue areas are lunar maria, low lying regions composed of volcanic lava flows that formed after the heavily cratered lunar highlands (and are thus much less cratered). The topography is derived from over 2.4 billion shots made by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The large near-circular basins (large yellow circles) show the effects of the early impacts on early planetary crusts in the inner solar system, including the Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown › Larger image › Print resolution |
Presenter: Benjamin Greenhagen, scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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Figure 6: Map showing global compositional variations measured by the Diviner lunar radiometer. The map is centered on the lunar nearside, which is visible from Earth, between 90 W and 90 E. The iron- and magnesium-rich maria appear red, while the calcium-rich highland appear blue-green. Highland areas with high silica (labeled) and enhanced sodium regions (purple circles) appear dark blue. Diviner measures the wavelength position (microns) of a mid-infrared spectral feature called the Christiansen feature, which is correlated with silicate composition. Credit: NASA/Goddard/UCLA/JPL › Larger image › Print resolution (19 MB tif) |
Presenter: Timothy Glotch, assistant professor of geosciences, Stony Brook University, N.Y.
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Figure 7: Diviner data superimposed on a Lunar Orbiter IV mosaic of Hansteen Alpha, which is believed to be a silicic volcano." Red and orange colors indicate highly silicic compositions. Credit: NASA/Godard/UCLA/Stony Brook › Larger image › Print resolution |
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Figure 8: Diviner data superimposed on a Lunar Orbiter IV mosaic of Aristarchus crater. Red and orange colors indicate highly silicic compositions. Credit: NASA/Godard/UCLA/Stony Brook › Larger image › Print resolution |
Presenter: Richard Vondrak, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
No visuals.
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