CRaTER Cosmic Ray Telescope

CRaTER on LRO

NEW! An Exhibit about
CRaTER and LRO at
the McAuliffe-Shepard
Discovery Ctr., Concord, NH.
More information...

LRO Quick Facts
• Launched June 18, 2009
• 4-day trip to the moon, then
   into commissioning orbit
• Science payload of 7
   instruments
• Data relayed in real-time to
   LRO satellite and teams
• LRO Mission Operations:
   NASA-Goddard SFC
• LRO Dimensions:
   79"(2m) x 103"(2.6m)
• LRO Mass: 1664 lb. (891 kg)
• Duration: 1yr. exploration;
   Possible 3yr. science mission

Where is LRO Now?

Historical Exploration of
the Moon …

Related Links
• NASA LRO Mission
   - CRaTER Instrument
   - Diviner Instrument
   - LAMP Instrument
   - LEND Instrument
   - LOLA Instrument
   - LROC Instrument
   - Mini-RF Instrument

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Historical Exploration of the Moon

Our lunar missions will enable the pursuit of scientific activities that address fundamental questions about the history of the Earth and moon, the solar system and the universe, and about our place in them. They will allow us to test technologies, systems, flight operation, and exploration techniques that are applicable to future robotic and human missions.

1609	Lippershey invented the telescope
1610	Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made the first telescopic observation of the moon.
1610	Thomas Harriot and Galilei drew first telescopic representation of the moon.
1645	Michael Florent van Langren made first map of moon.
1647	Johannes Hevelius published first treatise devoted to the moon
1651	Giovanni Battista Riccioli named craters after philosophers and astronomers.
1753	Roger Joseph Boscovich proved the moon has no atmosphere.
1824	Franz von Gruithuisen thought craters were formed by meteor strikes.
1920	Robert Goddard suggested sending rockets to the moon.
1959	Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 reached the moon, impacting near the crater Autolycus.
1961	President John F. Kennedy proposed a manned lunar program.
1964	Ranger 7 produced the first close-up TV pictures of the lunar surface.
1966	Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the moon.
1967	Lunar Orbiter missions completed photographic mapping of the moon.
1968	Apollo 8 made the first manned flight to the moon.
1969	Apollo 11 mission made the first landing on the moon and returned samples.
1972	Apollo 17 made the last manned landing of the Apollo Program.
1976	Soviet Luna 24 returned the last sample of the moon.
1990	Galileo spacecraft obtained multispectral images of the western limb and part of the far side of the moon.
1994	Clementine mission conducted multispectral mapping of the moon.
1998	Lunar Prospector launched.
2004	NASA's Vision for Space Exploration unveiled.
2007	Japanese SELENE (Kaguya) launched.
2007	Chinese Chang'e 1 launched.
2008	Indian Chandrayaan 1 launched.
2009	NASA launches LRO/LCROSS

Historic Timeline Information excerpted from NASA's LRO-LCROSS Summary.