Mission Summary
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is NASA’s longest-running lunar mission and the spacecraft that has mapped the Moon in more detail than any before it. Launched June 18, 2009 alongside the LCROSS impactor, it was sent to chart the surface from polar orbit, scout future landing sites and resources, and measure the radiation environment ahead of a return to the Moon.
LRO entered lunar orbit on June 23, 2009 and settled into a roughly circular path about 50 kilometers up. From there its instruments built three-dimensional maps of the terrain, measured day and night temperatures, and focused on the poles, where permanently shadowed craters might hold water ice. It also photographed the Apollo, Surveyor, and Luna landing sites in detail sharp enough to show the hardware left behind.
Among its milestones were the highest-resolution topographic map of the Moon yet produced and an early demonstration of laser communication, when controllers beamed an image up to the orbiter in 2013. More than a decade and a half after launch, LRO continues to operate, supplying data that underpins planning for the Artemis landings.
Sources and notes can be found on the Sources page.
