Probe pictures Moon landing sites
16:38, 7 September 2011
LONDON. September 7. KAZINFORM The pictures clearly show the hardware left on the lunar surface by American astronauts in the 1960s and 70s, including Apollo 17's "Moon buggy".
The images were acquired by the robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been circling Earth's satellite since 2009, BBC News reported.
Such shots have been returned before, but these are the best yet.
LRO has recently lowered its orbit from 50km above the Moon's surface to just 25km.
This makes it easier to see equipment, such as the descent stages that put the astronauts on the surface. Some of the science experiments are visible, also - as are the trails of bootmarks left in the dirt as the crews positioned these science packages.
For full version go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14813043