Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

active Mission

About

Mission Details

Goals

Science and Data

Gallery

Images From LRO
An illustration of a spacecraft above the Moon with Earth in the background.

LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) was the first U.S. mission to the Moon in over 10 years. LRO created a 3D map of the Moon, as part of a program to identify future landing sites and resources – including deposits of water ice shadowed in polar craters. LRO continues to orbit the Moon.

Type

Orbiter

Launch

June 18, 2009

Target

Earth's Moon

Objective

Exploration and Science

LRO Stories

Explore the LRO Newsroom
Image Article
min read

Seeing the Solar Eclipse from 223,000 Miles Away
Article
2 min read

NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow
2 min read

NASA’s LRO Finds Photo Op as It Zips Past SKorea’s Danuri Moon Orbiter

Article2 months ago
2 min read

NASA’s LRO Images Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus Lander

Article3 months ago
5 min read

NASA to Study Effects of Radio Noise on Lunar Science

Article4 months ago
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno