NASA Releases First Interactive High Resolution Mosaic of the Lunar North Pole

NASA has released the most interactive high resolution mosaic of the north polar region of the moon that was created over four years by scientists using data from its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The six-and-half-feet-per-pixel (two-meters) image is the largest high resolution mosaic of the Lunar north pole that spans across an area equal to more than one-quarter of the U.S. The total mosaic image measures 867 billion pixels. If the mosaic was processed as a single file, it would need nearly 3.3 tetrabytes of storage space.

The mosaic was constructed using 10,851 images and offers sufficient information to view the different terrains present on the lunar surface. The presence of consistent lighting throughout the images makes it easier to differentiate regions. What is even more exciting is that the viewers have the option to zoom in and out and also pan around an area.

"This unique image is a tremendous resource for scientists and the public alike," John Keller, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., said in a news release. "It's the latest example of the exciting insights and data products LRO has been providing for nearly five years."

The images used for the creation of the mosaic were taken with two LRO Narrow Angle Cameras - that are a part of the instrument suite called Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC).  These cameras record the lit and shadowed terrains. Nearly four years after the launch of the orbiter, the space agency now has a uniform map to unravel important scientific questions related to the moon.

The LRO, which was launched in 2009, is made of seven instruments suites that are used to map the lunar surface, probe the radiation environment and investigate water and other key mineral resources. They are also used to collect other existing geological clues that offer evidence about the evolution of moon.

Apart from this, the scientists also referred to additional information about the topography of the moon from LRO's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and they even gathered information on gravity from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to assemble the mosaic.