Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Lost and gone forever



When I went looking for the cover to Clementine on This Old Internet, I found this:
On January 25, 1994, the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE) (better known as Clementine) was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a mission designed to test lightweight miniature sensors and advanced spacecraft components by exposing them, over a long period of time, to the difficult environment of outer space. In addition to testing the various sensors, Clementine was given the complex task of mapping the moon. The mission results were spectacular.
Spectacular? I'll say. They've got the whole surface of the moon on the Internet for all to see. Have a look. You can browse it, zooming and panning, or you can get it to pinpoint lunar features for you. Kind of mind-blowing to see the lunar landing sites as cartoony red push-pins on a photo map of the moon.

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