Best Lunar Mapping
The SELENE mission, formerly known as Kaguya, is a Japanese space exploration project operated by JAXA. It deployed an orbiter to map the Moon in unprecedented detail. The mission’s high-resolution imagery and video data significantly advanced our understanding of lunar geology and surface features....
The Lunar Orbiter 1 mission involved a NASA spacecraft launched in 1966. It achieved the distinction of being the first American vehicle to successfully enter lunar orbit. The orbiter conducted extensive photographic mapping of the Moon’s surface, specifically targeting areas considered for potentia...
Lunar Orbiter 2 was an uncrewed NASA spacecraft launched in 1966 as part of a program to photograph the Moon before the Apollo landings. It returned hundreds of photographs, with emphasis on potential landing areas near the lunar equator, while also gathering tracking data relevant to the Moon's gra...
Zdeněk Kopal was a Czech astronomer who spent much of his career in the UK and the US, becoming a leading authority on close binary star systems and lunar topography.
Lunar Orbiter 3 was a NASA spacecraft launched on February 5, 1967, as part of the five-mission Lunar Orbiter program designed to photograph and map the Moon's surface. The spacecraft orbited the Moon and captured detailed images of potential Apollo program landing sites, contributing to the selecti...
