NASA's Moon Mapper Beholds Home
Posted on: Thursday, 6 August 2009, 08:20 CDT
This image of Earth taken from 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the lunar surface was taken by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, one of two NASA instruments onboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Australia is visible in the lower center of the image. The image is presented as a false-color composite with oceans a dark blue, clouds white, and vegetation an enhanced green. The image data were acquired on July 22, 2009.
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument is a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer designed to provide the first map of the entire lunar surface at high spatial and spectral resolution. Scientists will use this information to answer questions about the moon's origin and development and the evolution of terrestrial planets in the early solar system. Future astronauts will use it to locate resources, possibly including water, that can support exploration of the moon and beyond.
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper was selected as a Mission of Opportunity through the NASA Discovery Program. Carle Pieters of Brown University, Providence, R.I., is the principal investigator and has oversight of the instrument as a whole, as well as the Moon Mineralogy Mapper Science Team. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed and built the Moon Mineralogy Mapper and is home to its project manager, Mary White. JPL manages the program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was constructed, launched, and is operated by the Indian Space Research Organization.
More information about Chandrayaan-1 is at : http://www.isro.org/Chandrayaan .
More information about NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper is at : http://m3.jpl.nasa.gov .
Related Articles
- United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches Moon Missions for NASA
- ATK Plays Critical Technical Role On NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper Mission
- NASA Images California's Wildfire
- NASA Images to Be Archived Online
- NASA Images Suggest Water Still Flows in Brief Spurts on Mars
- NASA Images Used in Coral Reef Survey
- Saturn's Moon Titan has Dunes, Images Show
- Cartwheel Galaxy Makes Waves in New NASA Image
- Free Color Poster of Stunning NASA Images Now Available to Download; Images Appear in ``Year In Space'' 2005 Calendar, a Popular Holiday Gift for Space Enthusiasts Everywhere
- Historic NASA Images Will Appear in 2005 Space Calendar; Free Shipping, Discounts Available for 'Year In Space' Calendar
 |
 |
User Comments (1)
| 1. |
Posted by sb rath on 08/06/2009, 10:03 The moon minerology mapper(m3) ,as the name suggests, is meant to find resources in the moon.False colour image of earth taken by m3 is very nice to look at, but one wonders about the utility of this exercise.It is appropriate that similar images of moon ,taken at a height of 100/200 km ,giving confimed or possible existence of water and other materials be posted on the website. |
RSS Feeds