New high-resolution pictures taken by an orbiting Nasa camera show clear evidence of man's lunar explorations nearly 40 years after the last U.S. spaceflight touched down on the Moon.
Nasa released three pictures snapped over the past month by its two-year-old Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The pictures provide the sharpest images yet of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites and include a photo of the boot tracks left behind in 1972 by the last US astronaut to walk on the Moon.
These images remind us of our fantastic Apollo history and beckon us to continue to move forward in exploration of our solar system, said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at Nasa Headquarters in Washington.
One of the images shows the tracks made by astronauts as they made their way from the Apollo 14 (Antares) lunar module to where they set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP).
The LRO has been taking pictures of the moon's surface for more than two years. But scientists made an adjustment to its orbit in August that helped produce the higher resolution images.
Link to pictures and video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...ographs-show-traces-man-left-on-the-Moon.html
Nasa released three pictures snapped over the past month by its two-year-old Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The pictures provide the sharpest images yet of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites and include a photo of the boot tracks left behind in 1972 by the last US astronaut to walk on the Moon.
These images remind us of our fantastic Apollo history and beckon us to continue to move forward in exploration of our solar system, said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at Nasa Headquarters in Washington.
One of the images shows the tracks made by astronauts as they made their way from the Apollo 14 (Antares) lunar module to where they set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP).
The LRO has been taking pictures of the moon's surface for more than two years. But scientists made an adjustment to its orbit in August that helped produce the higher resolution images.
Link to pictures and video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...ographs-show-traces-man-left-on-the-Moon.html
