NASA | LRO: Mapping Our Future

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The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is the first mission in NASA's planned return to the moon. LRO is an unmanned mission to create the comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources necessary to design all future lunar exploration efforts. LRO focuses on the selection of safe landing sites, identification of lunar resources and the study of how lunar radiation will affect humans.

Some lunar elevation provided by JAXA/SELENE.

[cyberteque]

Have a look at the Clementine site!
Great detail!

[Snaggbash]

I want to see an offical map of the moon :)
would be so cool to have one in your own room :D

[Mathview]

Interesting and informative video. Good job! I'm very happy that we are taking Lunar Studies to a new level with the LRO. I believe the moon's surface contains secrets of the longterm history of the local astrophysical environment. e.g. Evidence of periodic fluxes of meteors and comets that erodes away on earth should be preserved in the lunar surface...

[cyberteque]

How does this mission differ from Clementine and Lunar Prospector?
How much more mapping do we really need?
Let's just do it!
I'll go! Getting a bit old now, but I'm fit, technical, have some flight time.
Pick me, pick me!
:-)

[joshua]

4:25 so there a high resolution video of the moon

[hyhhy]

Good looking and informative video. Nice. The results of LRO will be interesting.

[KurdstanPlanetarium]

The Moon, my favourite body near to us and can observe in details..great video thank.
by the way LRO is carrying my name and my family name to the Moon.

[cmbears]

that is i can't wait till they map the moon,

[andymu]

very interesting i can't wait to see what the future brings!

[human]

What is ment by the moon is the natural next step in our exploration of our own universe, have we not already landed on and explored the moon? Was that not 30 or so years ago, i don't want to be a downer but why havn't we been back to the moon earlier than this.

[omgnuub]

isnt it weird that they went up to the moon way back in the day but now they dont have the information to send manned people up there anymore...?

[defton]

Summer jam - tudp (residentallien-remix) at sound cloud dot com

[LaddieGalicia]

cant wait till they map the universe but i cant live that long

[AnarchyAlleyCat]

they do have it, the problem is we want to send back people in saffer ways.. and in saffer places.
in the sixties, we send men to the moon, but with enourmes risks, and defenetly not to stay there.
this is a complettly new challenge.
we plan on finding places in wich we can live, and build . safely..

[mrmaciejm]

rare resources and $, NASA is working for future of private investors. That is their goal set up by US government, open space by providing reliable technology for private investment.

[ve]

you can explore the moon but leave the way that was supposed to be

[ExploringBeyond]

Better safe than sorry. I'd rather they spend another bil on making the right preparations instead of blowing twenty times that once they're there.

[Harisdoubled]

@jungcitybandit let's not do this please... >:(

[AnarchyAlleyCat]

life on mars isn't popping around, if it's there its very well hidden.
the reason we didn't already mapped the moon, was 1)money 2) other priorities after the sixties ( see shuttle, space station, voyager, the other plantets, mars specialy..it's a lot of stuff 3)shuttle recovery after incident, 4) well.. it's now that we have the tech. to do it well.
it's a shame youre instruction is so low.what are youre parents doing with all the money ?
next time try making you're self a culture