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Hubble’s View of the Apollo 17 Landing Site

Hubble's View of the Apollo 17 Landing Site
This image of the Taurus-Littrow valley shows the Apollo 17 landing site (the "+" symbol in the image). This region marks the last time – December 1972 – that humans walked and drove on the Moon's surface. Astronomers are using the Apollo 17 images (and those of the Apollo 15 site) as "ground-truth" in an effort to discriminate lunar materials enriched in ilmenite, a titanium-bearing oxide of potential value as a resource in human exploration of the Moon. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys took the image on Aug. 16, 2005.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    The Moon is 238,857 miles (384,403 kilometers) from the Earth.
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    The Moon has a diameter of 2160 miles (3476 kilometers).

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    These HST data are from proposal 10719. NASA's HST Lunar observation team is led by Chief Scientist J. Garvin. The team includes M. Robinson (Northwestern Univ.), D. Skillman (NASA/GSFC), B. Hapke (Univ. of Pittsburgh), C. Pieters (Brown Univ.), M. Ulmer (Northwestern Univ.), J. Bell (Cornell Univ.), and J. Taylor (Univ. of Hawaii).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/HRC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    August 16, 2005
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F250W (250nm), F344N (344nm), F502N (502nm), F658N (658nm)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Moon
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Earth's Satellite
  • Release Date
    October 19, 2005
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and J. Garvin (NASA/GSFC)

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Details

Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov