Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Moonscape


To prepare for the Apollo landings, five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft were launched during 1966 and 1967 to gather detailed images of our fair planet's large, natural satellite. Dramatic views returned by the spacecraft cameras included this stark moonscape. The mosaic of the 93 kilometer-wide, or 50 mile-wide impact crater, Copernicus features central peaks rising above the crater floor and rugged crater walls.