NASA's LRO Observes Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site
by Staff Writers
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
NASA's LRO - the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - spacecraft imaged the Chandrayaan-3 landing site on the Moon's surface.
The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon on Aug. 23, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 landing site is located about 600 kilometers from the Moon's South Pole. The circumference of the Moon is approximately 10,917 kilometers (6,783 miles).
The LROC (short for LRO Camera) acquired an oblique view (42-degree slew angle) of the lander four days later. The bright halo around the vehicle resulted from the rocket plume interacting with the fine-grained regolith (soil).
LRO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. Arizona State University manages and operates LROC.
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