LRO Instrument Integrations

Released Monday, April 14, 2008

ID: 10201

The LRO payload, comprised of six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide key data sets to enable a human return to the moon. Though built at a variety of partner institutions, all of LRO's instruments were integrated onto the spacecraft at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

LOLA

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will measure landing site slopes and lunar surface roughness, plus it will generate a high-resolution 3-D map of the moon. LOLA will also measure and analyze the lunar topography to identify permanently illuminated and shadowed regions. This footage includes b-roll of engineers installing the 9-meter fiber optic cable used for LOLA and the Laser Ranging telescope. The instrument was integrated during the summer of 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

LROC

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) consists of two narrow angle cameras and a wide-angle camera, which will provide close-up images of the lunar surface. These images will show polar lighting conditions, identify potential resources and hazards, and aid in the selection of safe landing sites. The instrument was integrated during the summer of 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

LEND

The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will create high-resolution maps of hydrogen distribution, plus gather information about the neutron component of lunar radiation environment. LEND data will be analyzed in the search for evidence of water ice near the moon's surface. The instrument was integrated during the summer of 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Diviner

The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission will measure surface and subsurface temperatures from orbit to identify cold traps and potential ice deposits, as well as rough terrain, rock abundance and other landing hazards. The instrument was integrated during the summer of 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

CRaTER

The primary goal of the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is to characterize the global lunar radiation environment and its biological impacts. CRaTER will also test models of radiation effects and shielding, and measure radiation absorption by human tissue-like plastics. The instrument was integrated during the summer of 2008 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

LAMP (stills)

The Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) is a small UV instrument that uses the signal from reflected Lyman sky-glow and starlight to see in the Moon's permanently shadowed regions.

Footage from LAMP's integration was not available so high-res stills are provided instead.

Mini-RF (still)

The Mini-RF is a technology demonstration of an advanced synthetic aperture radar capable of measurements in X-band and S-band. Mini-RF will demonstrate new lightweight SAR, communication technologies and locate potential water-ice.

Video of Mini-RF's integration was not available so a high-res still is provided instead.