Mare Tranquillitatis From 20 Km, 9 Seconds Before Impact

Four Ranger 8 Camera P images taken on 20 February 1965 from a distance of 20 km about 9 seconds before impact on the Moon. The images are ordered (clockwise from upper left) P3, P4, P2, P1. The images were taken in a part of the Sea of Tranquillity about 60 km north of the Apollo 11 landing site. This area looked smooth in Earth-based telescopes, but as the images show it is dotted with craters. The P3 and P4 images are about 2.4 km across, showing objects as small as 15 m across. The P1 and P2 images are 800 m across and show 5 m features. North is up in all images. (Ranger 8, p010)