WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:01.001 --> 00:00:11.011 [music] 2 00:00:11.011 --> 00:00:15.048 The Moon. It’s our nearest neighbor in space, and data we 3 00:00:15.048 --> 00:00:18.785 gather from its features can tell us a lot about the rest of 4 00:00:18.785 --> 00:00:22.289 our solar system. And through the eyes of the LRO spacecraft, 5 00:00:22.289 --> 00:00:26.827 we can explore the lunar surface in all new ways in fascinating 6 00:00:26.827 --> 00:00:30.998 detail. Our tour begins on the western border, where the near 7 00:00:30.998 --> 00:00:35.168 side of the Moon meets the far side. The enormous feature is a 8 00:00:35.168 --> 00:00:41.208 lunar crater and it’s known as the Orientale basin. Here, LRO’s 9 00:00:41.208 --> 00:00:43.477 terrain map combines with surface gravity measurements 10 00:00:43.477 --> 00:00:46.947 from the GRAIL mission. This data reveals structure in the 11 00:00:46.947 --> 00:00:50.417 lunar crust, beneath the surface, giving us a window into 12 00:00:50.417 --> 00:00:56.089 the geologic features of the Moon’s interior. Our next 13 00:00:56.089 --> 00:00:59.259 location receives little direct sunlight and has some of the 14 00:00:59.259 --> 00:01:02.729 coldest recorded temperatures in the solar system – the South 15 00:01:02.729 --> 00:01:06.466 Pole. The highlighted spots signify potential water ice, 16 00:01:06.466 --> 00:01:10.170 based on temperature readings from LRO’s Diviner instrument 17 00:01:10.170 --> 00:01:15.876 and reflectance from its laser altimeter LOLA. LOLA also allows 18 00:01:15.876 --> 00:01:19.379 us to peer into the darkness of Shackleton crater by bringing us 19 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:27.754 this digital elevation model. It’s 21 kilometers wide, and 4 20 00:01:27.754 --> 00:01:31.425 kilometers deep, but it pales in comparison to the largest known 21 00:01:31.425 --> 00:01:35.295 impact crater in the Earth-Moon system – the South Pole-Aitken 22 00:01:35.295 --> 00:01:43.937 Basin. Sitting on the far side, it’s 2500 kilometers across and 23 00:01:43.937 --> 00:01:48.375 13 kilometers deep. We don’t yet know exactly how old the basin 24 00:01:48.375 --> 00:01:52.512 is, but it was first seen in the 1960s by spacecraft flying 25 00:01:52.512 --> 00:01:59.152 around the far side. As much as we use LRO data to investigate 26 00:01:59.152 --> 00:02:03.123 areas we can’t see from Earth, we also probe familiar territory 27 00:02:03.123 --> 00:02:06.360 on the lunar near side, to bring back images with an all-new 28 00:02:06.360 --> 00:02:12.199 level of detail. This is Tycho crater; it’s around 100 million 29 00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:21.174 years old. Here, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera 30 00:02:21.174 --> 00:02:24.745 captures the central peak with a 100 meter-wide bolder at the 31 00:02:24.745 --> 00:02:30.083 summit – the origins of which are still a mystery. Continuing 32 00:02:30.083 --> 00:02:33.987 across Moon’s nearside, we will arrive in an area ripe for 33 00:02:33.987 --> 00:02:37.858 future exploration, due to the diversity of impact and volcanic 34 00:02:37.858 --> 00:02:42.195 materials. It features a prominent crater so bright it’s 35 00:02:42.195 --> 00:02:45.065 not only visible through telescopes, but also to the 36 00:02:45.065 --> 00:02:49.569 naked eye. Welcome to the Aristarchus plateau. Here, 37 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:53.273 infrared shows the mineral pyroxene in orange, and a splash 38 00:02:53.273 --> 00:02:56.610 of plagioclase in blue from Aristarchus crater. This region 39 00:02:56.610 --> 00:03:03.617 can tell us a lot about the rich volcanic history of the Moon. 40 00:03:03.617 --> 00:03:06.219 As much as we study the Moon looking for sites to visit, we 41 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:10.290 also look back at places we’ve already been. This is because 42 00:03:10.290 --> 00:03:13.994 the new data that LRO is gathering helps us reinterpret 43 00:03:13.994 --> 00:03:17.330 the geology of familiar places, giving scientists a better 44 00:03:17.330 --> 00:03:21.034 understanding of the sequence of events in early lunar history. 45 00:03:21.034 --> 00:03:25.105 Here, we descend to the Apollo 17 landing site in the 46 00:03:25.105 --> 00:03:28.408 Taurus-Littrow valley, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. 47 00:03:28.408 --> 00:03:36.216 The path the astronauts took over the course of three days is shown. 48 00:03:36.216 --> 00:03:38.919 The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera is even able to 49 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.055 capture a view of the bottom half of the Apollo 17 Lunar 50 00:03:42.055 --> 00:03:45.859 Lander, which still sits on the surface, as well as the rover 51 00:03:45.859 --> 00:03:51.631 vehicle. These images help preserve our accomplishment of 52 00:03:51.631 --> 00:03:57.971 human exploration on the Moon’s surface. Moving onward, we make 53 00:03:57.971 --> 00:04:01.074 our way to our final destination. This location 54 00:04:01.074 --> 00:04:04.811 contains regions that exist in permanent shadow, as well as 55 00:04:04.811 --> 00:04:07.881 ones that bask in nearly perpetual light. It’s the 56 00:04:07.881 --> 00:04:12.119 North Pole. Detailed terrain measurements by LOLA allow 57 00:04:12.119 --> 00:04:15.288 scientists to model sunlight and shadow at the poles over decades 58 00:04:15.288 --> 00:04:19.526 and centuries. Sunlit peaks and crater rims here may be ideal 59 00:04:19.526 --> 00:04:23.263 locations for generating solar power for future expeditions to 60 00:04:23.263 --> 00:04:26.933 the Moon. This updated visualization of the lunar 61 00:04:26.933 --> 00:04:30.036 landscape stands as a testament to the functionality and 62 00:04:30.036 --> 00:04:32.205 abilities of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 63 00:04:32.205 --> 00:04:36.877 spacecraft. And as the mission continues to gather data, it 64 00:04:36.877 --> 00:04:39.513 will provide us with many more opportunities to take 65 00:04:39.513 --> 00:04:43.683 a tour of our Moon. 66 00:04:50.690 --> 00:04:55.862 [beeping]