NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures Rare Encounter with Korea’s Danuri Moon Orbiter
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been orbiting and studying the Moon for the past 15 years. And yet, it's not every day that the LRO manages to capture images of another spacecraft in lunar orbit.
During the period of March 5 and 6, 2024, the LRO, travelling in a nearly parallel orbit, managed to capture a series of images of Danuri. This was no simple task. The two spacecraft were moving in opposite directions, making the timing of the images crucial.
To capture these images, the LRO operations team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, had to ensure that the LRO's camera was pointing to the right place at the right time. The relative velocities between the two spacecraft were approximately 7,200 miles (or 1,500 kilometers) per hour. Despite the ...