This image from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera shows China’s Chang’e 6 in the Apollo Basin on the far side of the moon on June 7, 2024. The lander is seen as the small cluster of bright pixels in the center of the image. Image is 552 meters wide; the north is up. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed China’s Chang’e 6 on the moon, revealing its location on a crater in the geologically rich Apollo Basin, characterized by ancient basalt flows.
NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) imaged China’s Chang’e 6 sample return spacecraft on the far side of the moon on June 7. Chang’e 6 landed on June 1, and when the LRO passed over the landing site almost a week later, it acquired an image of the lander on the rim of an eroded crater about 50 meters in diameter.
The LRO camera team calculated the coordinates of the landing site at approximately 42 degrees south latitude and 206 degrees east longitude, at an altitude of approximately minus 3.27 miles (minus 5,256 meters).
This before and after animation of LRO images shows the appearance of the Chang’e 6 lander. The increased brightness of the terrain around the lander is due to disturbance by the lander’s engines and is comparable to the blast zone around other lunar landers. The before image is from March 3, 2022 and the after image is from June 7, 2024. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The Chang’e 6 landing site is located at the southern edge of the Apollo Basin (approximately 306 miles or 492 km in diameter, centered at 36.1 degrees south latitude and 208.3 degrees east longitude). Basaltic lava erupted south of Chaffee S crater about 3.1 billion years ago and flowed downhill to the west until it encountered a local topographic high, probably related to a fault. Several wrinkle ridges in this region have deformed and raised the mare’s surface. The landing site is about halfway between two of these prominent ridges. This basalt flow also overlaps a slightly older flow (about 3.3 billion years old), which is visible further west, but the younger flow stands out because it contains a greater amount of iron oxide and titanium dioxide.
A regional context map of the Chang’e 6 landing site. Color differences have been corrected for clarity. The dark area is a basalt mare deposit; bluer parts of the mare are higher titanium currents. Contour lines marking elevation intervals of 100 meters (about 328 feet) have been superimposed to give an idea of the topography. The image is approximately 118 miles (190 km) wide. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a crucial spacecraft designed for detailed exploration of the lunar surface. The mission, launched on June 18, 2009, aims primarily to collect high-resolution images and data to facilitate the selection of future landing sites, assess the moon’s mineral resources and analyze the lunar radiation environment. Equipped with a range of powerful instruments, including high-resolution cameras and a laser altimeter, the LRO maps the lunar terrain in exceptional detail, helping scientists understand the moon’s geology and identify areas rich in resources such as water ice.
Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
The LRO has significantly advanced our knowledge of the moon, contributing to discoveries such as confirming the presence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters and mapping the moon’s surface temperatures. Instruments such as the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment provide critical data on lunar topography and thermal behavior, crucial for planning future human and robotic missions. By continuing to return valuable data back to Earth, the LRO supports ongoing research that improves our strategies for return to the Moon and beyond, marking this as a cornerstone of lunar exploration technology.