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Pinpointing the Moon's South Pole

Image Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

Published: September 7, 2023

This visualization shows the precise location of the Moon’s South Pole in the system of lunar latitude and longitude adopted by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

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The rising Earth above the lunar horizon as seen from the Apollo 8 spacecraft.

blue Earth against a black sky above the barren lunar surface

The rising Earth as seen by Apollo 8

Three images of Tycho crater and its central peak, located at 43 S, 11 W, on the Moon.

UV/Visible Composite Images of Tycho Crater on the Moon

The three crew members of Apollo 8 were the first humans to leave Earth orbit and the first to travel around the Moon.

Trio of men in spacesuits walking down a hall.

Apollo 8: First Humans to Leave Earth Orbit

Lunar orbiter from Langley Research Lunar Orbiter Program.

Lunar Orbiter 1

Topography of Earth's moon generated from data collected by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with the gravity anomalies bordering the Procellarum regio...

Gravity Gradients Frame Oceanus Procellarum

We go: to the Moon and on to Mars. The Artemis generation will explore farther than we’ve ever gone before.

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We Go as the Artemis Generation

Four Ranger 8 Camera P images taken on 20 February 1965 from a distance of 20 km about 9 seconds before impact on the Moon.

Mare Tranquillitatis From 20 Km, 9 Seconds Before Impact

Engineers prepare NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft for acoustic environmental testing.

LADEE in the Clean Room

This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) during the primary mapping mission from March to May 2012.

GRAIL's Gravity Map of the Moon

Astronauts: James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart Stresses the testing of the Lunar Module, the spacecraft that will land men on the Moon. Featured are sequences of launch, ...

Apollo 9 - Three To Make Ready (1969)

The LRO camera team has discovered more than two-dozen new impact craters – including an 18-meter-wide crater caused by a bright flash on March 17, 2013.

Video explaining the discovery of more than two-dozen new impact craters on the Moon.

New Craters on the Moon

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lithograph

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lithograph

Astronaut John Young, who walked on the Moon during Apollo 16 and commanded the first space shuttle mission, has passed away at the age of 87.

Memorial video about astronaut John Young

NASA Remembers Astronaut John Young, Moonwalker and First Shuttle Commander

Researchers hope "LADEE" will solve a mystery that has been puzzling them since the days of Apollo.

NASA Mission Seeks Lunar Air

A recording of the Apollo 8 astronauts reading from the book of Genesis.

A video of the Genesis reading during the Apollo 8 mission

Apollo 8 Genesis Reading

This animation features actual satellite images of the far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun.

Moon Crossing From a Million Miles Away

The far side of Earth's Moon.

Lunar Far Side

By combining years of LEND data, scientists see mounting evidence of hydrogen-rich areas near the Moon’s south pole, strongly suggesting the presence of frozen water.

Water on the Moon

These maps of the moon show the "Bouguer" gravity anomalies as measured by NASA's GRAIL mission.

Three heat maps showing the moon's gravity

Gravity of the Moon's Crust

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) acquired a high resolution image of the Apollo 11 landing site.

video showing Apollo 11 site from orbit and the ground

LRO Explores the Apollo 11 Landing Site

LRO - Eclipse Observations from LRO Lithograph

Learn about the research being done as part of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program.

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Unboxing Apollo Samples

Share this animated GIF to celebrate and promote International Observe the Moon Night!

Observe the Moon Around the World

NASA's LADEE mission came to an end as the spacecraft executed a planned de-orbit into the surface of the Moon at nearly three thousand, six hundred miles per hour.

Video about the end of the LADEE mission

NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface (Reporter Package)

Explore how NASA operates the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft around the Moon.

A spacecraft with dashed road lines leading from it to the Moon.

Driving a Lunar Spacecraft

Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates.

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Between four and seven times a year, Earth, Moon and Sun line up just right to create the cosmic-scale shadow show known as an eclipse.

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Eclipses

Several theories vie for dominance but most agree on one thing — Earth's Moon was born from destruction.

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Moon Formation

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