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Scientists have revealed an incredibly detailed image of the moon’s surface showing objects as small as five meters in diameter, captured with reflected radar signals.
The image, released by the United States National Radio Astronomical Observatory, shows the landing site of NASA’s Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and the surrounding jagged grooves and craters.
To obtain the image, the researchers used satellites that emit a strong radar signal to the moon, which was then sent back to a system of 10 radio telescopes in North America, called the Very Long Baseline Array.
The end result marks a successful preliminary test of the very complex radio telescope system.
Now, scientists want to develop it further to capture more detailed images of much deeper into our solar system, including the surfaces of Neptune and Uranus.
New radar image of the Apollo 15 landing site, localized to prominent lunar features. Apollo 15 landed at Hadley – Apennine, a region near the moon, July 30, 1971
“The planned system will be a leap forward in radar science, allowing access to unheard of features of the solar system from here on Earth,” said Karen O’Neil, site manager of the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.
The project combines the efforts of the National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory (GBO), the National Radio Astronomical Observatory (NRAO) and Raytheon Intelligence & Space.
GBO’s Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia – the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope – was fitted with a new transmitter developed by Raytheon Intelligence & Space, allowing it to transmit the radar signal into space.
NRAO’s continent-wide Very Long Baseline Network (VLBA) received the signal once reflected from the lunar surface and produced the image.
The image was captured in November last year but has only just been released by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
GBT-VLBA radar image of the area where Apollo 15 landed in 1971. The snake-shaped feature is Hadley Rille, a remnant of ancient volcanic activity, possibly a collapsed lava tube
Apollo 15 – NASA, 1971. Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin uses a shovel to dig in the lunar soil in front of Mount Hadley, 1971
Apollo 15 Commander Dave Scott salutes the American flag at the Hadley-Apennine lunar landing site. The lunar module ‘Falcon’ is partially visible on the right, 1971
The new image shows the Apollo 15 landing site right next to a serpent-shaped indentation called the Hadley Rille, a remnant of ancient volcanic activity, likely a collapsed lava tube.
The crater at the top, along the groove, is called Hadley C and is about four miles in diameter.
Apollo 15 landed at Hadley-Apennine, an area near the lunar surface, on July 30, 1971.
It was the ninth crewed mission in NASA’s Apollo program and the fourth to land on the moon.
The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. This telescope is equipped with a new planetary radar transmitter to study objects in the solar system.
Continent-wide very long baseline network antenna locations. These antennas serve as reception sites for the reflected radar signal from the Green Bank Telescope
Using the information collected with this latest test, scientists will finalize a plan to develop a high-power 500-kilowatt radar system capable of imaging objects in the solar system “with unprecedented detail and sensitivity.”
This will allow astronomers to use radar signals as far as the orbits of Uranus and Neptune – the two outermost planets in our solar system, residing approximately 1.6 billion and 2.7 billion kilometers from our solar system, respectively. home planet.
“The proof-of-concept test, which resulted in a two-year effort, paves the way for the design of a more powerful transmitter for the telescope,” NRAO said in a statement.
“More power will allow improved detection and imaging of small objects passing through Earth, moons orbiting other planets and other debris in the solar system.
WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
The NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the massive 363-foot-tall Apollo 11 Spacecraft 107 / Lunar Module S / Saturn 506) space vehicle launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 9:32 am (EDT).
Apollo was NASA’s program that started in 1961 and brought the first man to the moon eight years later.
The first four flights tested equipment for the Apollo program, and six of the remaining seven flights successfully landed on the moon.
The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 8 which circled it on Christmas Eve in 1968 but did not land.
The Apollo 9 crew spent ten days in orbit around Earth and made the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo rocket that would later land Neil Armstrong on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first to land on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
The capsule landed on the Sea of Tranquility, carrying Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and Pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbiting the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, “This is a small step for (a) man; a giant leap for humanity. ‘
Apollo 12 landed later in the year, on November 19, on the Ocean of Storms, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 flight hours an oxygen tank explosion forced the crew to cancel the lunar landing and move into the Aquarius lunar module to return to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned lunar mission in the Apollo space program, and considered at the time to be the most successful manned space flight at that time due to its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than which had been possible during previous missions.
Apollo’s last moon landing was in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts touched down on the lunar surface.
Astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin unboxes lunar module experiments on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Photographed by Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969
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