Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Views Blue Ghost on Moon’s Surface

NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) imaged Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 lunar lander on the Moon’s surface the afternoon of March 2, not quite 10 hours after the spacecraft landed. The delivery is part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.

Posted March 25, 2025

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Views IM-2 on Moon’s Surface

NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) imaged Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 on the Moon’s surface on March 7, just under 24 hours after the spacecraft landed.

Posted March 25, 2025

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Solar Eclipses

The Solar System

NASA Develops Process to Create Very Accurate Eclipse Maps

New NASA research reveals a process to generate extremely accurate eclipse maps, which plot the predicted path of the Moon’s shadow as it crosses the face of Earth. Traditionally, eclipse calculations assume that all observers are at sea level on Earth and that the Moon is a smooth sphere that is perfectly symmetrical around its […]

Posted September 19, 2024

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Celebrate International Observe the Moon Night at NASA Goddard

The public is invited to celebrate International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. EDT at NASA Goddard’s Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. International Observe the Moon Night is a time to come together with fellow Moon enthusiasts and curious people around the world. The public is invited to […]

Posted September 9, 2024

Artemis

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Lunar Discovery & Exploration Program

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Planetary Science Division

Science Mission Directorate

The Solar System

NASA, JAXA Bounce Laser Beam Between Moon’s Surface and Lunar Orbit

NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has twice transmitted a laser pulse to a cookie-sized retroreflector aboard JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the Moon and received a return signal.

Posted July 29, 2024

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Missions

NASA Centers & Facilities

NASA Directorates

Planetary Geosciences & Geophysics

Planetary Science

Planetary Science Division

Science & Research

New Evidence Adds to Findings Hinting at Network of Caves on Moon

An international team of scientists using data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has discovered evidence of caves beneath the Moon’s surface.

Posted July 18, 2024

Goddard Space Flight Center

Earth's Moon

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Planetary Science

The Solar System

NASA’s LRO Spots China’s Chang’e 6 Spacecraft on Lunar Far Side

NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) imaged 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 when LRO passed over the landing site almost a week later, it acquired an image showing the lander on the rim of an eroded, 55-yard-diameter (about […]

Posted June 14, 2024

2024 Solar Eclipse

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Solar Eclipses

Seeing the Solar Eclipse from 223,000 Miles Away

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse from hundreds of thousands of miles away.

Posted April 15, 2024

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

2024 Solar Eclipse

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

The Solar System

NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow

Editor’s Note, April 16, 2024: This story has been updated to remove an unclear secondary image and caption. As the Moon blotted out the Sun to viewers across the United States during the April 8 solar eclipse, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured an image from some 223,000 miles away of the highly anticipated celestial […]

Posted April 15, 2024

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Earth's Moon

Goddard Space Flight Center

Planetary Science

Planetary Science Division

Science Mission Directorate

The Solar System

NASA’s LRO Finds Photo Op as It Zips Past SKorea’s Danuri Moon Orbiter

NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), which has been circling and studying the Moon for 15 years, captured several images of Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri lunar orbiter last month. The two spacecraft, traveling in nearly parallel orbits, zipped past each other in opposite directions between March 5 and 6, 2024.

Posted April 5, 2024