Ancient peoples looked at the moon and saw in its patterns of shadow and light the figures
of deities or animals.
The Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei, trained his telescope on our celestial companion and
saw mountains and valleys much like those on Earth.
Scientists today, operating a fleet of spacecraft, are seeing evidence of past events that shaped
the lunar landscape, and traces of water and minerals that may one day support a human
presence.
Using data from NASAÕs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we now take a virtual tour of this
ÒnewÓ Moon and some of its most noteworthy destinations.
HereÕs the Mare Orientale, an impact crater nearly 4 billion years old.
The color, coded for elevation, highlights a bulls-eye pattern of concentric rings.
Now, letÕs go down under to the South Pole.
The pole sits within the wide rim of the famed Shackleton Crater.
Direct sunlight never reaches the crater floor.
The Lunar Prospector spacecraft detected higher than normal amounts of hydrogen within the
crater, which may indicate the presence of water ice.
From here, we travel to the far side of the moon.
The South Pole-Aitken Basin is one of the largest and oldest impact features in the
solar system.
You can see its true size in the elevation data.
We are approaching the Tycho Crater.
Look closely at the mountainous peak in the center of the crater.
That strange boulder near the summit is about 100 meters wide.
It might have been left there by an impact.
Now on to the Aristarchus Crater, the product of a relatively recent impact.
It sits on a plateau thatÕs the site of many transient lunar phenomena, mysterious shifts
in color or light on the surface.
The Sea of Serenity, and to its right the Sea of TranquilityÉ these dark regions were
laid down by vast lava flows.
The Taurus-Littrow Valley is in the highlands to the north.
The image is based on a stereoscopic elevation map from JapanÕs Kaguya spacecraft.
Here, now, is the Apollo 17 landing site courtesy of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
From this vantage, you can see the lander, the rover, and trails left by rover tires
and astronauts.
Finally, to the north pole.
In the highlands that blanket this region, the sides of myriad craters cast long shadows
acros the craggy lunar landscape.
There it is.
Our moon.
Our one and only.