China says a full map of the moon captured by the orbiter Chang'e-2 is the highest-resolution image of the entirety of the moon's surface published to date.
The full coverage moon map was compiled from images taken by a stereo camera on the orbiter from heights of 60 miles and 9 miles over the lunar surface between October 2010 and May 2011, Liu Dongkui, deputy chief commander of China's lunar probe project, said.
The resolution in the images can show features as small as 23 feet across, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported Monday.
Traces of previous U.S. Apollo missions were visible in the images, Yan Jun, chief application scientist for China's lunar exploration project, said.
China is set to launch the Chang'e-3 in 2013, the first Chinese spacecraft intended to land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, officials said.
Thanks: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/
The full coverage moon map was compiled from images taken by a stereo camera on the orbiter from heights of 60 miles and 9 miles over the lunar surface between October 2010 and May 2011, Liu Dongkui, deputy chief commander of China's lunar probe project, said.
The resolution in the images can show features as small as 23 feet across, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported Monday.
Traces of previous U.S. Apollo missions were visible in the images, Yan Jun, chief application scientist for China's lunar exploration project, said.
China is set to launch the Chang'e-3 in 2013, the first Chinese spacecraft intended to land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, officials said.
Thanks: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/
No comments:
Post a Comment