ShadowCam illuminated a dark moon crater

An image of the rim of a crater near the moon’s south pole shows how NASA’s latest lunar camera is shedding new light on the dark regions of our celestial neighbor. A new photo taken by the camera on February 28 Shadow CameraIt shows a portion of the 2.85-mile (4.6-kilometer) diameter Marvin Crater, just 16 miles (26 km) from the moon’s south pole, funded by NASA..

Ultra sensitive Shadowcam is designed to detect reflected light. Areas exposed to direct sunlight will appear saturated to the device, while Shadowcam’s sensitivity means it can detect poorly lit, permanently shaded areas, or PSRs.

The new image shows the difference in illumination between craters inside and outside of Marvin Crater, which is dimly illuminated by the light emanating from nearby mountains, according to the update.. Released by the ShadowCam team on March 13. This means huge differences in the direction of illumination experienced by even the closest craters.

that’s what it was called Marvin Crater for lead planetary geologist Ursula Marvin. The inside of the crater is in constant shadow. ShadowCam runs on a spaceship Danuri The Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which entered lunar orbit in December 2022. Based on built-in cameras Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA, which has been in operation since 2009 but is 200 times more sensitive.

ShadowCam has been shown before unprecedented details Shackleton crater during commissioning. According to NASA, the high-resolution images collected by ShadowCam can provide clues about the evolution of the moon, water trapped in ice in shadowy areas, and even guide mission site selection. Artemis with the crew. Meanwhile, Danuri launched five other payloads, including: returns the image from the main camera