Friday, April 9, 2010

LROC: Coordinates of Robotic Spacecraft

Samuel Lawrence
LROC News System

Repeatedly imaging anthropogenic targets on the Moon is an LROC team priority. As each image comes down we carefully search for the hardware (or impact crater). If the target is not in the image we try again next month, imaging on either side of the first observation. Additionally, we re-image targets once they are found to enable more precise estimates of their latitude and longitude coordinates, and provide more information concerning local morphology and albedo.

Listing of all Soviet and American robotic space hardware that have been identified by the LROC Team. The lines and samples are from the EDR files prior to any map-projection or transformation. Some targets that are not on the list may have been tentatively identified but we are awaiting confirmation from images yet to be acquired. Coordinates are in the mean Earth reference projected onto a sphere. Currently the precision of these coordinates are better than 200 meters in all cases, and as high as 100 meters in a few. As LOLA topography is folded into the solution, and orbit determinations improve, the coordinate precision and accuracy will increase.

Most of these images are available in the recent PDS release, the rest will be posted in June. Enjoy.
Target Image Sample Line Latitude Longitude
Ranger 6 M111456730L 4588 18990 9.388 21.480
Ranger 8 M116154252L 578 24238 2.638 24.787
Ranger 9 M109250398R 1414 10613 -12.828 357.613
M117507817L 1913 26692
Surveyor 1 M102443995L 1418 24641 -2.474 316.661
M122495769L 1322 43940
Surveyor 3 M104662862R 975 20400 -3.015 336.582
M107035386R 4771 19444
M109386083R 357 25603
M114104917R 3248 1962
M117650516R 3671 2425
M120005333R 2964 49244
M120012135R 3046 1824
Surveyor 5 M102000149L 521 864 1.461 23.195
M102007306R 2197 2431
M106726943L 4338 15768
Surveyor 6 M117501284L 346 31114 0.473 358.573
Surveyor 7 M119936760R 1414 32659 -40.980 348.491
A13 SIVB M109420042L 437 6513 -2.553 332.113
A14 SIVB M107049825R 3703 24329 -8.179 333.969
M111762553R 3717 25033
M120025601L 4430 27587
A15 SIVB M109311328L 1389 8103 -1.288 348.176
M106949300R 2647 18382
A17 SIVB M106956532L 4196 13370 -4.167 347.670
M109318172R 436 20274
M111674228R 1155 19239
Luna 17 Lander M104747893L 4633 13054 38.238 325.003
M107106240L 1268 25834
M114185541R 3190 21978
Lunokhod 1 M104747893L 4522 11583 38.316 324.996
M107106240L 1169 23437
M114185541R 3546 17681
Luna 21 Lander M101971016L 4180 5288 25.998 30.410
M106669064L 2859 24290
M122007650L 3262 35186
Lunokhod 2 M109039075L 2706 27218 25.827 30.919
M119646179L 1482 24617
Luna 18 M119482862R 3189 28221 3.760 56.655
Luna 20 M104147428L 3493 20240 3.787 56.625
M106504563L 4888 29956
M108862844L 5034 12172
M108862844R 150 12028
M111219210L 3540 13220
M119482862R 978 29618
Luna 24 M106461361L 982 19212 12.714 62.213
M111185087L 2670 37996
M119449091R 1761 31854
Luna 23 M106468527R 3791 25479 12.666 62.151
M111185087R 1387 40480
M119449091L 2852 29327
Luna 16 M106511834L 2578 17653 -0.513 56.364

No comments: