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