NASA has just released a highly detailed image of the interior of the Shackleton crater located in the southern polar region of the Moon. The American space agency provided this image on September 19, 2023.
The image showcases the technological prowess of two cameras orbiting the Moon working in tandem to reveal unprecedented details about the Moon’s natural satellite’s southern pole.
Close-up image of the Shackleton crater in the southern Moon. Source: Image created by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) and ShadowCam with images provided by NASA/KARI/ASU.
Included in this technology is the LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera), which has been operational since 2009. The LROC system comprises three cameras (two narrow-angle cameras and one wide-angle camera) mounted on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to capture high-resolution images of the Moon’s surface.
Additionally, there is ShadowCam, a NASA instrument aboard the Danuri spacecraft from KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute), launched in August 2022. ShadowCam was developed by the Malin Space Science Systems (USA) and Arizona State University (USA).
The Combined Technological Power of NASA
Important: This image is the first to be produced by two different NASA cameras orbiting the Moon, providing a fresh perspective on the terrain that could host future lunar missions.
Details: It depicts the interior of the Shackleton crater, which is approximately 3,200 meters deep and 19,300 meters wide. Shackleton has been selected as one of the potential landing sites for NASA’s Artemis III mission.
Shackleton: Named after the Irish-born British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, this unexplored crater features extreme, yet contrasting conditions.
Similar to many other polar lunar craters, the interior of Shackleton is perpetually shrouded in darkness due to the Moon’s slight tilt on its axis. This causes the peaks along the crater’s rim to receive nearly continuous sunlight.
How it Works: This image is a product of combining visuals from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) and a new device called ShadowCam.
The LROC has captured stunning images of the Moon since 2009, but it was never designed to photograph lunar surfaces where light is scarce.
However, ShadowCam is 200 times more sensitive than LROC and can successfully operate in extremely low-light conditions, revealing features and terrain details that LROC cannot see.
With each camera optimized for specific lighting conditions near the lunar poles, analysts combined images from both devices to create a comprehensive visual map of the terrain and geological features of both the brightest and darkest parts of the Moon.
Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) – home to the LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera). (Photo: NASA).
Future Exploration: The name Shackleton is fitting for this extremely cold, dark, and mysterious crater, akin to a ‘hell pit’, as scientists have been drawn to its frigid southern expanse for years.
Ancient materials – dating back billions of years – could provide researchers with new insights into the evolution of the Moon and our Solar System.
Thousands of meters deep within Shackleton, where sunlight has never reached, it is extremely cold, averaging around -183°C. This temperature is cold enough to form ice and other frozen volatile substances.
Scientists believe that layers of ice have existed on the Moon for millions or even billions of years, and the opportunity to study samples could enhance our understanding of how the Moon and our Solar System developed.
Ice deposits could also serve as a crucial resource for exploration, as they contain hydrogen and oxygen that could be used as rocket fuel or for life support systems.
A more comprehensive map of the Moon’s southern polar region is invaluable for future surface exploration efforts, such as NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) and Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a long-term presence there.
