LRO Ground Track

A satellite's ground track shows the path of its orbit on the surface of the parent body. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be placed in a nearly circular polar orbit about 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the surface of the Moon, completing each orbit in a little less than two hours. The orientation of this orbit remains fixed in space, relative to the stars, while the Moon slowly rotates beneath it as they travel together around the Earth, allowing LRO to scan the entire surface of the Moon every two weeks.

As this animation shows, the density of the ground coverage provided by a polar orbit is greatest at the poles. For the Moon, this is also where a great deal of current interest lies, since permanently shadowed areas at the poles may harbor water ice. This is also where some high-altitude areas are in gentle but perennial sunlight, providing the lighting and power supply for extended human exploration.

The animation depicts LRO's ground track over a period of seven days (89 orbits). The elevation map comprises low-resolution data from a number of sources, including the Clementine and JAXA/SELENE spacecraft, combined with high-resolution insets for the regions near the poles. The surface color is derived from photographs taken by Clementine.