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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

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Science ExplorationcislunarCOSPAR 2009-031ALaunched 6/18/2009
Admin Edit
Mission & Launch
Launch Mission
LRO/LCROSS
Launch Vehicle
Atlas V 401
Launch Date
6/18/2009
Orbit & Mass
Orbit Class
cislunar
Altitude
176,947 km
Inclination
28.2 deg
Dry Mass
1,018 kg
Total Mass
1,916 kg
Payload Classification
Mission Type
Science Exploration
Payload Category
PLAN
Payload Class
C
Organizations
Operator
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Manufacturer
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Registry
COSPAR ID
2009-031A
UN Registration
ST/SG/SER.E/573
Track
Mentions
56
All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.
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Actions

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission hosts over 1.6 petabytes of data.

CapabilityValue 4.0Nov 7, 2025A giant leap in orbital imagery is what we need to realize advanced Moon missions

The US Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, India's Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, and South Korea's Danuri spacecraft are currently coordinating to avoid collisions as they operate around the Moon.

General
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Oct 10, 2025
Open Lunar Foundation Launches Lunar Ledger

The CAPSTONE lunar orbiter has been conducting automated navigation demonstrations with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for over two years.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.2Jun 16, 2025Moon Monday #229: China extends lead in lunar orbital infrastructure, gets an edge in future crewed missions over the US

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), India’s Chandrayaan 2 orbiter, and South Korea’s KPLO have been flying pole-to-pole mapping orbits between 50 and 150 kilometers above the Moon for three years.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0May 23, 2025Why Moon missions need their own Wikipedia and beyond

The NASA-funded CAPSTONE lunar orbiter, led by Advanced Space, has been cross-communicating with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for over two years to perform Moon-to-Moon demonstrations.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Apr 21, 2025Moon Monday #222: How China navigated failure to nail down lunar navigation success

ChaSTE-derived surface and subsurface temperatures at the Chandrayaan 3 landing region were more accurate than temperatures inferred coarsely from orbit by the Diviner radiometer on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Mar 31, 2025Moon Monday #219: Results from India’s Chandrayaan 3 experiment to benefit future missions eyeing lunar water

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team concluded that Athena hit the surface faster than intended.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.4Mar 17, 2025Moon Monday #217: Red A-CLPS 🔥💍

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged Blue Ghost on March 3 at coordinates 18.5623°N, 61.8103°E.

GeneralValue 4.0Mar 10, 2025Moon Monday #216: Firefly Blue Ghost brings precision landing and lunar sci-tech bounties

The 2023 CLOC-SAT report by U.S. lunar experts recommended that NASA plan a replacement for the 2009-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to support upcoming NASA-funded robotic and crewed Moon missions under the Artemis program.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Feb 10, 2025Critical scientific documents go missing from NASA-backed lunar community website

Roman will use NASA’s Near Space Network, including an upgraded dish that will be shared with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, for data communications.

CapabilityRelationshipsValue 4.0Nov 12, 2024Roman Space Telescope reaches assembly milestone

A NASA-funded study from January 2024 using Apollo and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data found the Moon’s south polar region experiences shallow moonquakes that can strongly shake the surface and affect rovers traversing crater slopes in and around permanently shadowed regions.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Oct 28, 2024Moon Monday #199: Not the fault in our stars but certainly stressful faults on our Moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2009, cost close to $600 million.

FinancialGeneralValue 4.0Oct 7, 2024Cubesats are changing the way we explore the solar system

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images released 2024-02-26 identified the IM-1 landing location.

GeneralPlanValue 3.0Feb 26, 2024Intuitive Machines expects early end to IM-1 lunar lander mission

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully spotted the Odysseus lander in images taken over the weekend following the landing.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.8Feb 26, 2024The phases of lunar lander success, revisited

Arizona State University manages and operates the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC).

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Jan 28, 2024NASA’s LRO Spots Japan’s Moon Lander

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been observing the Moon from orbit since its launch in 2009.

GeneralCapabilityValue 3.0Nov 27, 2023Searching for the ice hidden on the Moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released an 2023-08-31 image showing the likely Luna-25 impact site on the steep inner rim of Pontécoulant G crater about 400 km from the planned landing site.

CapabilityPlanValue 4.0Oct 5, 2023Russia blames Luna-25 crash on computer glitch

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in 2009.

GeneralPlanValue 3.5Sep 5, 2023NASA’s Lunar Orbiter Provides Crucial Scientific Data for Training Artemis Astronauts

ISRO chose Chandrayaan-3’s prime landing site using high-resolution photographs and data from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Aug 23, 2023Chandrayaan-3: India becomes fourth country to land on the moon

ISRO selected the Chandrayaan-3 prime landing site using high-resolution photographs and data from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Aug 5, 2023India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander arrives in lunar orbit