Satellite Offers New View of Dark, Light Sides of Moon

July 3, 2009 3:20 p.m. EST

Cape Canaveral, FL (AHN) - The first close-up photographs of the Moon in a decade have been transmitted to Earth from the latest spacecraft to orbit it.

Images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), released Thursday, show the dividing line between the light and dark sides of the Moon.

"Because of the deep shadowing, subtle topography is exaggerated, suggesting a craggy and inhospitable surface, Mark Robinson of Arizona State University in Tempe and LROC principal investigator said in a release. " In reality, the area is similar to the region where the Apollo 16 astronauts safely explored in 1972. While these are magnificent in their own right, the main message is that LROC is nearly ready to begin its mission."

NASA described the initial images as coming from a region about a mile east of Hell E crater in the lunar highlands of Mare Nubium.

The LROC and a companion satellite, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), launched June 18. The cameras aboard the LRO were activated June 30, a week after the two crafts attained orbit around the moon.

The reconnaissance craft will help NASA identify potential sites for future astronauts and build new maps of the surface.

The LCROSS craft will be intentionally crashed into the surface in October. The resulting plume will be examined for evidence of water frozen into the moon's craters.