Flying over the Taurus-Littrow Valley
-
- Visualizations by:
- Ernie Wright
-
- Produced by:
- David Ladd
- View full credits
On December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed their lunar module, Challenger, in a lunar valley named for the Taurus mountain range and the nearby Littrow crater. Cernan and Schmitt spent three days exploring the valley before rejoining Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans in lunar orbit. This visualization uses imagery and elevation data from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's cameras to show the terrain of the valley and the astronauts' view of the faraway Earth.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
-
Visualizer
- Ernie Wright (USRA) [Lead]
-
Producer
- David Ladd (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.) [Lead]
-
Technical support
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
-
LRO NAC (Narrow Angle Camera)
ID: 652 -
LRO Stereo DEM
ID: 835
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Related Pages
-
-
ID: 4714 Visualization
Lee Lincoln Scarp at the Apollo 17 Landing Site
Read moreAn animated view of Lee Lincoln scarp from above and from near ground level. This visualization is created from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographs and elevation mapping. The scarp is at the western end of the Taurus-Littrow valley, landing site of Apollo 17, and was explored by the astronauts on their second moonwalk. || scarp.0510_print.jpg (1024x576) [101.8 KB] || scarp.0510_searchweb.png (320x180) [63.7 KB] || scarp.0510_thm.png (80x40) [5.3 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/ (1920x1080) [32.0 KB] || scarp_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [15.7 MB] || scarp_720p30.mp4 (1280x720) [8.7 MB] || scarp_1080p30_prores.mov (1920x1080) [657.9 MB] || scarp_720p30.webm (1280x720) [3.5 MB] || scarp_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [3.3 MB] ||
-
ID: 4717 Visualization
The Taurus-Littrow Valley through LRO's Eyes
Read moreThis visualization of the Taurus-Littrow valley, site of the Apollo 17 Moon landing, uses multiple Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter datasets to zoom into the valley and illustrate the paths taken by the astronauts during their three days of exploration at the site. The data includes wide-angle (WAC) and narrow-angle (NAC) camera images, LOLA laser altimetry, and a high-resolution elevation map created from NAC stereo pairs. The imagery was chosen to approximately match the lighting conditions at the time of the landing. Color-coded trails with numbered stops (called stations in astronaut lingo) show where Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt drove their lunar rover — orange on day 1, blue on day 2, and green on day 3. ||
-
ID: 4302 Visualization
Apollo 17 Landing Site
Read moreApollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, was the final Apollo mission to the Moon. The Lunar Module Challenger landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972 and remained there for 75 hours. The landing site is a relatively flat spot among low mountains at the southeastern edge of Mare Serenitatis.The images here are designed for display on NASA's hyperwall. They help tell the story of Apollo 17's exploration of the Taurus-Littrow site using data and imaging from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and photographs taken by the astronauts. LRO's detailed and comprehensive remote sensing capabilities have fostered a reinterpretation of the geology of the site. ||
-
-
-
ID: 14245 Produced Video
The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 17
Read moreThis video celebrates the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17 and discusses how data from LRO is not only helping scientists better understand scientific findings from that mission, but also helping pave the way for the future of human exploration on the Moon with Artemis.Music provided by Universal Production Music:“Beyond the Clouds” – CRZYSND & William Lyons“Golden Hour” - Max Cameron Concors“Hope and Tomorrow” – Wally Gagel & Xandy Barry“Great Delicacy” – David OhanaAdditional archival footage provided by Ben Feist & Stephen SlaterWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || Apollo17_50thAnniversary_YouTubeHD.mp4 (1920x1080) [1.2 GB] || Apollo17_anniversary_Thumbnail.jpg (1920x1080) [895.6 KB] || Apollo17_anniversary_Thumbnail_print.jpg (1024x576) [349.5 KB] || Apollo17_anniversary_Thumbnail_searchweb.png (320x180) [101.3 KB] || Apollo17_anniversary_Thumbnail_thm.png (80x40) [7.2 KB] || Apollo17_50thAnniversary_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [9.1 GB] || Apollo17_50thAnniversary_YouTubeHD.webm (1920x1080) [81.0 MB] || Apollo17_50thAnniversary_CAPTIONS.en_US.srt [16.4 KB] || Apollo17_50thAnniversary_CAPTIONS.en_US.vtt [15.6 KB] ||
-