ShadowCam images Lunar south polar region

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 30 April 2023 08:44

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Washington DC (SPX) May 01, 2023

With the success of NASA's Artemis I mission and the agency recently naming the Artemis II crew, progress towards humanity's first-ever journey to the lunar South Pole region during Artemis III is well underway. To prepare, NASA scientists and engineers are learning as much as possible about this shadowy region that promises to yield scientific discoveries that can help us learn about our

ShadowCam images Lunar south polar region
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) May 01, 2023

With the success of NASA's Artemis I mission and the agency recently naming the Artemis II crew, progress towards humanity's first-ever journey to the lunar South Pole region during Artemis III is well underway.

To prepare, NASA scientists and engineers are learning as much as possible about this shadowy region that promises to yield scientific discoveries that can help us learn about our place in the universe and venture farther than ever before.

One way scientists are gathering information is through a hypersensitive optical camera called ShadowCam. The NASA instrument is flying with five other Korean instruments aboard KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute)'s KPLO (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter), also known as Danuri, which launched in Aug. 2022.

Developed by Malin Space Science Systems and Arizona State University (ASU), ShadowCam is significantly more light-sensitive than comparable lunar cameras. It acquires high-resolution images of permanently shadowed regions, which never receive direct sunlight, in service of science and exploration planning for Artemis missions and robotic missions.

Since Danuri entered lunar orbit last December, ShadowCam has been routinely capturing images of the lunar North and South Pole regions. Highlighted below are some standout images so far and what they reveal.

Shackleton Crater in Unprecedented Detail
One of ShadowCam's first images from lunar orbit, pictured here in greater detail than ever before, is the permanently shadowed wall and floor of Shackleton crater, which is found near the South Pole. The level of detail in this image is possible thanks to ShadowCam's ability to operate in extremely low-light conditions - it is 200 times more sensitive than the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Narrow Angle Camera.

The arrow marks the track of a boulder that rolled down the crater wall. The observation of these trails helps scientists characterize the boulder shape and velocity and regolith features, furthering our understanding of the geotechnical properties of the Moon.

See the rest of this high resolution photo story at NASA here