NASA Camera Captures Images of Moon Craters in Shadow
NASA has recently released images of moon craters and other objects that are not directly illuminated by sunlight. The photos were taken by the ShadowCam, a camera developed by researchers at Arizona State University and Malin Space Science Systems, and were aboard the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. The images show formations at the poles of the moon that were not visible in previous photos. The low light of the images was either reflected from the Earth or from nearby elevations. The photos will help prepare for the return of humans to the moon.
Several countries, including the United States, China, and Russia, plan to send astronauts to the moon in the coming years and establish a permanent base on the lunar surface. These missions require accurate data about the moon’s surface. To this end, NASA recently created the first Unified Geologic Map of the Moon, which contains all known surface structures of the moon. The ShadowCam photos will provide even more detailed information about specific locations on the moon that may be visited by humans in the future.
The NASA team plans to use a highly sensitive camera to explore these locations. The images of the Shackleton crater, for example, reveal a much more detailed representation than previous photos. The observations will help scientists draw conclusions about the structure and composition of the moon’s surface. It is important to note that the ShadowCam cannot capture structures or people on the moon’s surface that are directly illuminated by the sun, as they would be too bright for the camera to handle.
