3D moon flyover reveals greatest detail ever

Chelsea Whyte, contributor

This flyover of the lunar surface gives the most comprehensive picture of the moon to date. Created by researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and NASA, the virtual ride is made up of 70,000 still images captured by a wide-angle camera aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from an altitude of 50 kilometers.

The model highlights low-lying areas in blue and the highest regions in red and white. In the first clip, a full view of the lunar surface initially reveals the Earth-facing side of the moon, showing prominent flat plains that were used as landing sites for the Apollo missions.

As the model rotates, the dark side of the moon, which faces out toward space, becomes visible. It's home to the lowest crater, roughly 9100 metres deep, as well as the highest mountains that reach an altitude of 10,760 metres.

Subsequent clips zoom in on the South Pole-Aitken basin, a large impact crater on the far side of the moon, and the landing sites of Apollo 15 and Apollo 17.

The virtual flyover took two weeks to create and covers 98 per cent of the lunar surface.

Frank Scholten, a geodesic scientist at DLR, used a network of 40 computers outfitted with special software to compare still images from the LRO pixel by pixel. A 3D model was obtained by analysing the point of view of the camera in each shot as well as data from a laser-mapping instrument onboard the LSO. Laser readings were used to map topography at the poles, which is difficult to do otherwise due to persistent shadows.

"These 3D maps of the moon enable us to better evaluate future landing sites," says lunar researcher Ulrich K?hler from the DLR, who is part of a team working with NASA to survey the moon. "Whether manned or unmanned, future flights to the moon will benefit from the most detailed map of the lunar surface," he says.

If you enjoyed this video, watch how the LRO mapped the surface of the moon, see an animated map of the largest lunar craters or take a mind-bending tour of the solar system.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1a4e8a49/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A110C110C3d0Emoon0Eflyover0Ereveals0Egreatest0Edetail0Eever0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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