Scientists have revealed an incredibly detailed image of the moon’s surface showing objects up to five meters in diameter, captured with reflected radar signals.
The image, released by the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory, shows the landing site of NASA’s Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and the jagged grooves and craters around it.
To obtain the image, the researchers used satellites that pull a strong radar signal to the moon, which was then reflected back to a system of 10 radio telescopes in North America, called the Very Long Base Matrix.
The final result marks a successful preliminary test of the extremely complex radio telescope system.
Now, scientists want to further develop it to capture more detailed images from much deeper into our solar system, including the surfaces of Neptune and Uranus.
The new radar image of the Apollo 15 landing site, located in relation to the prominent lunar features. Apollo 15 landed in Hadley-Apennines, a nearby region, on July 30, 1971.
“The planned system will be a leap forward in radar science, allowing access to hitherto unseen features of the solar system,” said Karen O’Neil, director of the West Bank Green Bank Observatory.
The project combines the efforts of the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) of the National Science Foundation, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and Raytheon Intelligence & Space.
The GBO Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia – the largest fully orientable radio telescope in the world – was equipped with a new transmitter developed by Raytheon Intelligence & Space, allowing it to transmit the radar signal into space.
The very long base matrix (VLBA) of the entire NRAO continent received the signal once reflected from the lunar surface and produced the image.
The image was captured in November last year, but was just released by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
GBT-VLBA radar image of the region where Apollo 15 landed in 1971. A snake-like feature is Hadley Rille, a remnant of ancient volcanic activity, probably a collapsed lava tube.
Apollo 15 – NASA, 1971. Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin uses a spoon to dig into the lunar soil in front of Mount Hadley, 1971
Apollo 15 Commander Dave Scott greets the American flag at the monthly Hadley-Apennine landing site. The monthly module “Falcon” is partially visible on the right, 1971
The new image shows the Apollo 15 landing site right next to a snake-like indentation called Hadley Rille, a remnant of ancient volcanic activity, probably a collapsed lava tube.
The crater at the top, next to the ditch, is called Hadley C and has a diameter of about 6 kilometers.
Apollo 15 landed in Hadley-Apennines, a region close to the lunar surface, on July 30, 1971.
It was the ninth manned mission in NASA’s Apollo program and the fourth to land on the moon.
Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the largest fully orientable radio telescope in the world. This telescope is equipped with a new planetary radar transmitter for studying objects in the solar system.
Antenna locations across the continent Very long base matrix. These antennas serve as reception points for the radar signal reflected from the Green Bank Telescope
Using the information gathered with this latest test, the scientists will finalize a plan to develop a high-power 500-kilowatt radar system that can imagine objects in the solar system “with unprecedented detail and sensitivity.”
This will allow astronomers to use radar signals as far away as the orbits of Uranus and Neptune – the two outer planets in our solar system, which live about 1.6 billion and 2.7 billion miles from our home planet, respectively. .
“The proof of concept test, which culminates in a two-year effort, paves the way for the design of a more powerful telescope transmitter,” NRAO said in a statement.
“More power will allow for improved detection and imaging of small objects passing by Earth, the months orbiting other planets and other remnants of the solar system.”
WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
The NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge Apollo 11 Spacecraft 107 / Lunar Module S / Saturn 506 spacecraft raised from Pad A, Launch Complex 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 9:32 am (EDT) .
Apollo was NASA’s program launched in 1961 and received the first man on the moon eight years later.
The first four flights tested the equipment for the Apollo Program and six of the other seven flights managed to land on the moon.
The first mission equipped on the moon was Apollo 8, which circled around it on Christmas Eve 1968, but did not land.
The Apollo 9 crew spent ten days orbiting the Earth and completed the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo missile that would later land on Neil Armstrong on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first to land on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The capsule landed on the Sea of Peace, carrying mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Armstrong and Aldrin went on the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, “This is a small step for (a) man; a huge step for humanity. ‘
Apollo 12 landed later that year, on November 19, on the Ocean of Storms, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 hours of flight, an explosion of the oxygen tank forced the crew to cancel the monthly landing and move to the lunar module Aquarius to return to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth monthly manned mission in the Apollo space program and was considered the most successful manned space flight to date due to its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than had been possible in previous missions. .
The last Apollo lunar landing took place in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts touched the lunar surface.
Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin conducted experiments on the lunar module during the Apollo 11 mission. Photographed by Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969