Skip Navigation
menu close modal

Resources

The Moon as Seen from Cassini

close view of the Moon's rugged surface
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Published: October 4, 2017

This image was taken on Aug. 17, 1999 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft as it passed by the Moon during an Earth flyby while Cassini was en route to Saturn.

Related

This spectacular view across the rim of the Moon's Wallach crater, 3.5 miles (5700 meters) across, comes from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. It was taken when the spacecraft was just 58 miles...
More
crater seen almost edge-on
Wallach Crater
A member of the Apollo 10 crew is hoisted up to a helicopter from the prime recovery ship, USS Princeton. Splashdown occurred at 11:53 a.m., May 26, 1969, about 400 miles east of American Samoa.
More
Helicopter lifting astronaut from recovery capsule over Pacific ocean
Navy Helicopter - Recovery - Apollo X Astronauts - Pacific
A view of the severely damaged Apollo 13 Service Module.
More
spacecraft with visible damage to its structure
Damage Report
Shackleton Crater is an impact crater that lies at the lunar South Pole; its interior is perpetually in shadow.
More
This is an image of Shackleton Crater, an impact crater that lies at the lunar South Pole. The image is engulfed in a sea of darkness, only a sliver of the crater’s rim is illuminated, forming a lit-up half circle. While peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, the interior is perpetually in shadow. This image was captured by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Shackleton Crater's Illuminated Rim & Shadowed Interior
A full moon rising over Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on September 16th 2016
More
moon rising over concrete structure
Launch Complex 34
A close-up view of a footpad and surface sampler with scoop (arm, out of frame) on the Surveyor 3 spacecraft which was photographed by the Apollo 12 astronauts during their second extravehicular ac...
More
Close-up of the footpad of Surveyor 3 on lunar surface
Apollo 12 Mission Image – View of the Surveyor III Craft, Which Landed April 19, 1967
The first image taken by the Ranger 8 camera B on 20 February 1965 shows the 164 km diameter Ptolemaeus crater, top center, and below it Alphonsus crater (diameter 108 km).
More
View of two large craters on the moon
Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus Craters on the Moon
The crew of the International Space Station snapped this image of the full Moon on April 30, 2018, as the station orbited off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The station orbits 220 miles, or 354...
More
full moon rising over blue atmosphere and ocean
Full Moon Over Newfoundland
Astronaut David R. Scott, right, commander of the Apollo 15 mission, gets a close look at the sample referred to as "Genesis rock."
More
Astronaut David R. Scott, right, commander of the Apollo 15 mission, gets a close look at the sample referred to as "Genesis rock."
Genesis Rock
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera imaged this bright young ray crater on Nov. 3, 2018. The Sun shone from the west (left). This image covers an area about five miles (8.1 kilometers) across. 
More
bright crater seen from directly above
Lunar Beauty
This photograph of a nearly full moon was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft on Dec. 22, 1968. 
More
nearly full moon, with some far side features visible
Nearly Full Moon from Apollo 8
During the Apollo 15 launch activities in the launch control center's firing room 1 at Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for planning, takes a close...
More
Man looking through binoculars
Wernher von Braun
Close-up view of the plaque which the Apollo 11 astronauts left on the Moon in commemoration of the historic lunar landing mission. 
More
Close-up view of the plaque which the Apollo 11 astronauts left on the Moon.
Apollo 11 Plaque
The 363-feet tall Apollo (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle which leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
More
View of Apollo 15 space vehicle
View of Apollo 15 Space Vehicle Leaving VAB to Pad A, Launch Complex 39
Ranger 7 was the first U.S. mission to successfully impact the moon. This was one of more than 4,300 images sent back during the flyby.
More
Black and white image of craters on the moon.
Ranger 7: Moon Close Up
Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., Apollo 12 command module pilot, suits up in the Kennedy Space Center's Manned Spacecraft Operations Building during the Apollo 12 prelaunch countdown.
More
Astronaut putting on his helmet
Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Suits Up During Apollo 12 Prelaunch Countdown
Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (left) commander, and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, carry out a simulation of a lunar traverse at Kilauea, Hawaii, site.
More
Two men performing simulation of lunar traverse
Astronauts Lovell and Haise During Simulation of Lunar Traverse at Hawaii
Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., commander of the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, pauses for a quick photo while training for the Apollo 13 mission.  
More
Portrait of astronaut James A. Lovell, Jr.
Portrait - Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr.
A shock of color on the Moon! The Lassell Massif (a so-called "red spot") in Mare Nubium appears orange in the center of this color composite image from the Wide Angle Camera aboard NASA's Lunar Re...
More
lunar surface with craters, seen from above
Color of the Lassell Massif
Scientists have successfully sprouted plants in lunar soil.
More
Close-up of clear plastic containers with tiny plants inside.
Growing Plants in Lunar Soil
Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot, stands in "golden slippers" on the Lunar Module porch during his extravehicular activity on the fourth day of the Apollo 9 Earth-orbital missio...
More
Astronaut in space
Astronaut Russell Schweickart Photographed During EVA
Image of Surveyor 1's shadow against the lunar surface in the late lunar afternoon.
More
Black and white image of shadow of spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.
Surveyor 1 Shadow
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan L. Bean examines the robotic Surveyor 3 spacecraft on the Moon.
More
Black and white image of astronaut standing next to robotic lander on the surface of the Moon.
Man and Machine
NASA successfully launched Apollo 6 (AS-502) from KSC's Complex 39A at 7:00 am (EST) on a mission to qualify the Saturn V launch vehicle for manned space flights.
More
Apollo 6 spacecraft launch
Launch of Saturn V AS-502
First full-frame image of the Moon taken by the Ranger 8 camera A from a distance of 2,573 km.
More
Image of the surface of the moon
First Picture of the Moon Taken by Ranger 8

You Might Also Like

Earth and the Moon are locked in an orbital dance, and gravity is the choreographer. Here's how it works.
More
Tidal Locking
Tidal Locking
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.
More
Composite of lunar eclipse phases over night sky
Eclipses
Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates.
More
Diagram of the Moon's phases
Moon Phases