Precise 3-D Measurements of Objects at Apollo 14 Landing Site

• Click the image above for a larger view
• Full-Res JPEG (1000 x 536) (66.1 kB)
• Full-Res TIFF (1000 x 536) (1.6 MB)

Caption:

Can we measure the size and shape of equipment and other objects on the Moon using today's orbital images from LROC cameras? As an example, to demonstrate the precise 3D measurement capability of LROC NAC stereo imagery, three objects (including the Lunar Module, ALSEP equipment, and Turtle Rock) and the astronauts' traverse at the Apollo 14 landing site are measured and their 3D models are reconstructed. Such 3-D measurements and models are used for planning and designing future human landed missions to the Moon.

Background Info:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center built and manages the mission for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera was designed to acquire data for landing site certification and to conduct polar illumination studies and global mapping. Operated by Arizona State University, the LROC facility is part of the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE). LROC consists of a pair of narrow-angle cameras (NAC) and a single wide-angle camera (WAC). The mission is expected to return over 70 terabytes of image data.

Cataloging Keywords: