Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Lonely Sentinel


Surveyor 1, as dramatically (and incredibly) restored and re-released by the Lunar Orbiter Image Restoration Project (LOIRP), Sept. 10.

The larger image (III-194-H3) from which this inset was cropped was swept up by Orbiter III February 22, 1967 at 5:24:14 ut from an altitude of 54.27 km. High resolution frame 3 clearly showed Surveyor 1 spacecraft sitting on the lunar surface, complete with long evening shadow. Surveyor 1 landed on the Moon on June 2, 1966 in the vast Ocean of Storms (Oceanus Procellarum) at 2.45 degrees South, 316.78 East, North of Flamsteed, within the ghost ring of Flamsteed P.

This image has been recovered in its original high resolution format by LOIRP staff from original Lunar Orbiter project data tapes using restored tape drive hardware and will eventually be submitted to the PDS (Planetary Data System). A full resolution version of this image will be placed online at the NASA Lunar Science Institute. The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) is located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. Funding and support for this project has been provided by NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA Innovative Partnerships Program, NASA Lunar Science Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Odyssey Moon LLC, SkyCorp Inc., and SpaceRef Interactive Inc. For more information on the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) visit http://www.moonviews.com For information on NASA's Lunar Science Institute visit http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov For information on NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration