Washington, 18 nov (EFE).-the scientific team that works with images sent by the probe Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has done the topographic map of higher resolution so far, that spread today the center space Goddard of the NASA.

Scientists from the University of Arizona State in Tempe, participating in this project, have made this map that puts the public view the shape and characteristics of the surface of almost all the moon on a scale of 100 meters per pixel.

The LRO orbiter was launched into space in June 2009 and since the beginning to send its first images has allowed better understanding of the Moon’s surface, design a complete map of its craters and until you see the footprints left by astronauts from missions Apollo.

The appliance has instruments such as the camera’s wide-angle (LROC, for its acronym in English) and a laser altimeter (LOLA) allowing scientists play with great precision the characteristics of the satellite in high resolution.

“Our new topographic Moon view provides the data set that the Lunar scientists had been awaited since the Apollo era,” said Mark Robinson, principal investigator of the camera LROC in the Arizona State University said in a statement released by NASA.

“We can now determine the slopes of all main areas of geological on the moon on a scale of 100 meters,” said the scientist, who explained that these findings will help them to understand how has deformed the crust, the mechanics of impact craters and investigate the nature of their characteristic volcanic

But also, and since that was the main objective with which the mission was launched, will help “better plan future human and robotic missions to the Moon”.

The NASA is studying new destinations to continue exploration beyond low Earth orbit and expected to return to the Moon, reaching an asteroid and step, for the first time in history, soil Martian in a period of about twenty years.

The Goddard Space Center is responsible for four main research branches within NASA: Earth Sciences, astrophysics, heliophysics and exploration of the Solar System. EFE

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