1 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:10,444 [music] 2 00:00:10,444 --> 00:00:13,313 In the time before the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, most 3 00:00:13,313 --> 00:00:16,216 lunar orbiting missions had a lifespan of one to two years. 4 00:00:16,216 --> 00:00:20,621 But now, LRO has shattered all records and been at the Moon for 5 00:00:20,621 --> 00:00:24,791 one hundred lunar days – that’s eight years of data collection. 6 00:00:24,791 --> 00:00:27,928 This mission has truly ushered in a new era of lunar and 7 00:00:27,928 --> 00:00:31,698 planetary science. One of the biggest accomplishments is that 8 00:00:31,698 --> 00:00:35,202 LRO’s high-resolution camera has been able to image almost the 9 00:00:35,202 --> 00:00:38,739 entire lunar surface, down to one meter of resolution. This 10 00:00:38,739 --> 00:00:42,175 has opened a treasure trove of new data about geological 11 00:00:42,175 --> 00:00:45,345 processes and areas that may be best suited for future 12 00:00:45,345 --> 00:00:49,349 exploration. One hundred lunar days has also given us more time 13 00:00:49,349 --> 00:00:53,253 study the Moon’s far side in more detail than ever before. We 14 00:00:53,253 --> 00:00:56,223 now know, for example, that the Compton-Belkovich volcanic 15 00:00:56,223 --> 00:01:00,560 complex formed from a rare type of lava about 3.7 billion years 16 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,032 ago. This helps paint a new picture of the Moon’s history. 17 00:01:05,032 --> 00:01:08,001 The Moon has not only had a wide range of complex geologic 18 00:01:08,001 --> 00:01:13,340 processes, but its volcanism may have also changed over time. LRO 19 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:15,909 has also been able to measure something you may not have heard 20 00:01:15,909 --> 00:01:19,513 about: the lunar tide – or how much the Moon’s surface actually 21 00:01:19,513 --> 00:01:23,583 flexes and cracks due to the gravitational pull of the Earth. 22 00:01:23,583 --> 00:01:26,053 There’s still a lot to learn about this ongoing process, 23 00:01:26,053 --> 00:01:29,122 making our Moon an important case study when thinking about 24 00:01:29,122 --> 00:01:34,127 other planets and moons. Over its lifetime of 4 1/2 billion 25 00:01:34,127 --> 00:01:37,331 years, the Moon has also been bombarded by all sorts of 26 00:01:37,331 --> 00:01:40,867 asteroids and comets. This has left millions of impact craters 27 00:01:40,867 --> 00:01:45,272 on the surface. For planetary scientists, however, there had 28 00:01:45,272 --> 00:01:49,543 been no way to identify newly formed craters. But when LRO 29 00:01:49,543 --> 00:01:53,447 arrived, all this changed. By comparing pictures taken earlier 30 00:01:53,447 --> 00:01:56,750 in the mission with more recent images, NASA scientists have 31 00:01:56,750 --> 00:02:00,420 discovered more than sixty new impact craters, like this one 32 00:02:00,420 --> 00:02:04,491 from 2013. And that’s not all. LRO’s instruments are able to 33 00:02:04,491 --> 00:02:08,595 study both new and old craters in ways we never have before. 34 00:02:08,595 --> 00:02:12,299 LOLA, for example, helps create topographic 3-D maps, and 35 00:02:12,299 --> 00:02:16,570 Mini-RF has detected evidence of water ice inside deep craters at 36 00:02:16,570 --> 00:02:20,107 the lunar poles. All of this is important for space science as a 37 00:02:20,107 --> 00:02:23,510 whole. Craters are used to help determine the age of a surface, 38 00:02:23,510 --> 00:02:27,214 how hot or cold a planet is, and how thick a planet’s atmosphere 39 00:02:27,214 --> 00:02:31,518 might be. Observing new impact craters also gives us better 40 00:02:31,518 --> 00:02:34,788 insight into what happens when a meteorite strikes a planetary 41 00:02:34,788 --> 00:02:39,626 surface. And this touches upon a key point - our Moon is more 42 00:02:39,626 --> 00:02:42,329 than just a rock. It’s the cornerstone for understanding 43 00:02:42,329 --> 00:02:46,333 our solar system and beyond. It has a dynamic history that we 44 00:02:46,333 --> 00:02:49,503 are still learning about and features we are still 45 00:02:49,503 --> 00:02:52,205 discovering. By being at the Moon for one hundred lunar days 46 00:02:52,205 --> 00:02:55,308 and counting, we continue to expand our knowledge of our 47 00:02:55,308 --> 00:02:57,244 nearest neighbor in space, and with that, 48 00:02:57,244 --> 00:03:00,614 the rest of the universe. 49 00:03:02,015 --> 00:03:08,455 [beeping]