Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

REVISED COORDINATES FOR APOLLO HARDWARE

2012; Copernicus Publications; Volume: XXXIX-B4; Linguagem: Inglês

10.5194/isprsarchives-xxxix-b4-517-2012

2194-9034

R. V. Wagner, E. J. Speyerer, K. N. Burns, J. Periam Danton, M. S. Robinson,

Space Exploration and Technology

Abstract. The Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provides direct imaging, at pixel scales of 0.5 to 1.0 meter, of anthropogenic equipment left on the Moon. We identified the descent stages of the lunar modules, central stations of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, Laser Ranging Retroreflectors (LRRRs), and Lunar Roving Vehicles in each NAC image of the Apollo landing sites. The pixel coordinates of those objects were then converted to latitude and longitude coordinates using SPICE routines in the U.S. Geological Survey Integrated System for Imagers and Spectrometers. For images that contained an LRRR, pointing information was updated to match the well known LRRR coordinates. Final coordinates for each object are reported as averages from multiple images. NAC observations allow refinement of the locations of these objects and result in a more accurate geodetic referencing at these historic sites. Additionally, the anthropogenic coordinate analysis enables realistic error estimates for NAC derived coordinates for features anywhere on the Moon.