NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of China’s Chang’e-6 sample return spacecraft on the far side of the moon on June 7. Chang’e-6 landed on June 1, and about a week later, LRO passed over the landing site, capturing images of the lander perched on the rim of an eroded crater 55 yards in diameter.
The LRO camera team calculated the coordinates of the landing site to be approximately 42 degrees south, 206 degrees east, at an altitude of approximately minus 3.27 miles (minus 5,256 meters).
The Chang’e 6 landing site is located at the southern end of the Apollo Basin (approximately 306 miles (492 km) in diameter, centered at 36.1°S, 208.3°E). Basaltic lava erupted south of Chaffee S Crater about 3.1 billion years ago and flowed downhill toward the west, encountering a topographical high that appears to be fault-related. Several wrinkled ridges in the region have been deformed and raised above sea level. The landing site is located approximately midway between these prominent ridges. This basaltic flow also overlaps with a slightly older (approximately 3.3 billion years old) flow visible further west, but the younger flow can be distinguished by its higher content of iron oxide and titanium dioxide.
LRO is managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Located in Greenbelt, Maryland, LRO was developed for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected vast amounts of data with seven powerful instruments and has made immeasurable contributions to our knowledge of the Moon. NASA will return to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human activities in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
Media Contact:
Nancy N. Jones
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.
