Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment; National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Published by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, 2009

About this Item

The format is approximately 85 inches by 11 inches. Color illustrations on both sides. Minor wear and soiling noted. The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment is one of seven instruments aboard NASA s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched on June 18, 2009. It is the first instrument to create detailed day and night surface temperature maps of the Moon. Data from Diviner has helped identify potential ice deposits in the polar regions, map compositional variations on the surface and derive subsurface temperatures. Since July of 2009, Diviner has operated continuously, acquiring nearly one trillion radiometric measurements to create the most detailed and complete set of thermal measurements of any planet in the solar system. The Diviner team will produce and archive a range of data products. These include low-level products derived from instrument telemetry (Level 0); calibrated data with associated geometry (Level 1); and higher-level data products that include gridded temperatures (Level 2); and derived fields such as thermal inertia, rock abundance, and mineralogy that will be created with the aid of topographic data and models (Level 3). Additionally, the Diviner team will provide specialized data products relating to permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles (Level 4). These products will be made available to the public online through this web site, and archived through the Geosciences Node of NASA's Planetary Data System. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies. Launched on June 18, 2009, in conjunction with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, LRO was the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. The probe has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites. The first images from LRO were published on July 2, 2009, showing a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds). The total cost of the mission is reported as US$583 million, of which $504 million pertains to the main LRO probe and $79 million to the LCROSS satellite. LRO has enough fuel to continue operations until at least 2026. On December 17, 2010, a topographic map of the Moon based on data gathered by the LOLA instrument was released to the public. This is the most accurate topographic map of the Moon to date. It will continue to be updated as more data is acquired. In July 2024, the analysis of the radar data obtained by LRO confirmed the presence of an underground cave on the moon accessible from the surface. The cave is said to be about 45 meters wide and at least 80 meters long, and present in the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility), the ancient lava plain where the Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon. The mission maintains a full list of publications with science results on its website. Single sheet, printed on both sides.

Seller Inventory # 86102

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment; National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
• Publisher: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
• Publication Date: 2009
• Edition: Presumed First Edition, First printing.
• Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Space
  • Space Exploration