NASA’s LRO Snaps a Rare Photo of a Bizarre Spacecraft Speeding at 11,500 KM/H over the Moon’s Orbit — We Finally Know What It Is – The Daily Galaxy –Great Discoveries Channel
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter just snapped an unexpected photo of another spacecraft racing past the Moon. The image reveals a bizarre, elongated shape streaking through space at breakneck speeds. In a rare cosmic alignment, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) successfully captured images of South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter as the two spacecraft zipped past each other in lunar orbit. The encounter occurred between March 5 and 6, 2024, with the two probes traveling in nearly parallel paths but in opposite directions.The images, released by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Arizona State University, offer a glimpse into the precision and timing required for such a challenging shot. The relative velocity of the two spacecraft was measured at 11,500 kilometers per hour (7,200 mph), meaning LRO had only a fraction of a second to capture Danuri in its field of view.LRO, which has been orbiting the Moon since June 18, 2009, was flying at an altitude of approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) above the lunar surface, while Danuri was positioned 8 kilometers (5 miles) below. Despite using an ultra-short exposure time of 0.338 milliseconds, the high-speed motion caused Danuri to appear elongated—stretched to nearly ten times its actual size—in the raw images.The photos were captured using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), a high-resolution imaging system developed by Arizona State University. According to Mark Robinson, LROC’s principal investigator, “Given the extremely high relative velocity, exquisite timing was needed to aim LROC precisely to catch a glimpse of Danuri.”NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the LRO mission for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.Danuri, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), is South Korea’s first lunar exploration mission. Developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), it successfully entered lunar orbit in December 2022 after a four-month journey from Earth. The mission’s main objective is to map the Moon’s surface and identify potential water-ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles.Danuri is equipped with a NASA-developed instrument called ShadowCam, which is 200 times more sensitive than LRO’s narrow-angle camera. In April 2023, Danuri turned its ShadowCam toward LRO and captured its own images of the NASA spacecraft while passing 18 kilometers (11 miles) above it.Capturing images of spacecraft in orbit around the Moon is an incredibly complex task. The success of the LRO-Danuri encounter was a testament to the meticulous planning of NASA engineers.In one of the three imaging attempts, LRO was tilted 43 degrees downward from its usual orientation to align its camera with Danuri’s trajectory. During the next encounter, LRO was positioned 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) closer to Danuri, requiring additional precision.Even with these adjustments, NASA acknowledges that the final images show significant motion blur, an unavoidable consequence of photographing fast-moving objects in space.This rendezvous highlights the growing number of international lunar missions. The United States, South Korea, India, China, Japan, and private companies are all investing heavily in lunar exploration.NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon in the coming years, will rely on detailed lunar maps provided by missions like LRO and Danuri. South Korea’s long-term goal includes deploying a lunar lander by the early 2030s.These spacecraft flybys, once considered a rare occurrence, may soon become a routine event as more robotic explorers and crewed missions join the growing fleet orbiting the Moon.So how long did it take to identify this unknown object? Scientists are liars.Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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