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YM COLUMN ARCHIVE

July 22, 2009

LRO imaged Apollo Moon Lander

I’m ever busying around. I’m now finishing this column shortly before my departure for total solar eclipse cruising. TV is replaying the video of Tom Watson’s great performance at The British Open Golf Championship. I remember I was watching the heated match between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson at the same golf links of Turnberry, which was called “the duel at midday”. This time Watson couldn’t make it through to win but it was a moving sight.

When I was paging through NASA’s website, I happened to find the pictures of Apollo Lander’s shadow on the lunar surface taken by LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), officially disclosed on the website.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html

They are also moving photographs. What a smart and dramatic performance on a website in timing for Apollo 11’s anniversary day coming soon. I’m really sorry KAGUYA couldn’t do this. The pictures were taken to capture the long extended shadow of the Lander intentionally aimed at good timing of low angled sun light. Only the imageries not taken yet seem to be those of Apollo 12, whose landing sites will be discovered soon. I recommend you to take a good look at them. Particularly for Apollo 14, Lunar module itself and scientific instruments as well as footprints of astronauts are clearly seen.

I’m writing this right before leaving home on Monday, because I’m afraid it will be hard to email from onboard cruising ship for observing total solar eclipse. It will be the very day of solar eclipse when this column will be delivered to you. The latest weather forecast at Ogasawara offshore where my cruiser “Pacific Venus” is heading for seems to be cloudy. So is cloudy my feeling for this journey. I will report to you in details what it was like when I get back.

I welcome your opinions on this column to the following E-mail address.
matogawa@planetary.or.jp

(Translated by The Planetary Society of Japan)