Which lunar orbiters have captured high-resolution images of Apollo landing sites and when were they taken?
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Executive summary
Multiple lunar orbiters have imaged Apollo landing sites: the 1966–67 Lunar Orbiter series surveyed and photographed candidate Apollo sites (Lunar Orbiters I–V) [1] [2], and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO, in lunar orbit since 2009) produced the highest-resolution modern images showing descent stages, astronaut tracks and rover tracks—some LROC images reach ~25–27 cm/pixel and were taken in low-altitude campaigns starting soon after LRO arrived in 2009 and during later targeted low-altitude passes [3] [4] [5]. Other missions such as Chang’e 2 are capable of meter-scale imaging but public reporting emphasizes LRO for the clear, high-resolution vistas of Apollo sites [6] [4].
1. Lunar Orbiter: the 1960s reconnaissance that found the landing zones
The five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft (1966–1967) were explicitly tasked to photograph nearly the entire Moon and to scout Apollo landing candidates: Lunar Orbiter I–V produced over 2,600 high- and moderate-resolution photographs used to select Apollo sites and to create baseline geologic maps [1] [2]. Those images date to 1966–1967 and provided the first photographic confirmation of suitable, safe terrain for crewed landings [1].
2. LRO/LROC: the modern, meter- and sub-meter rediscovery
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, carrying the LROC instrument suite, has repeatedly imaged the Apollo sites since LRO arrived in lunar orbit in June 2009; those images show descent stages, ALSEP hardware, rover tracks and astronaut footprints [3] [4]. LROC’s narrow-angle camera (NAC) produced the best modern views—LROC low-altitude campaigns produced images around ~25 cm per pixel that clearly resolve hardware and tracks; some released LROC images of Apollo 15 are cited at ~27 cm/px [3] [5].
3. When the sharpest LRO images were taken
LRO gathered its highest-resolution views during two months when the spacecraft was lowered into a lower-altitude mapping orbit; those low-altitude images (~25 cm/px) “will remain the best … until a future mission,” according to NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio summary [3]. Public releases and visualizations based on LROC data have been updated continually through at least 2025, and individual featured site pages and image galleries list the specific image dates and IDs for each Apollo site [7] [5] [8].
4. Other orbiters and meter-scale capability
Reporting and compiled reviews note that China’s Chang’e 2 (and other non‑U.S. probes) have meter-scale imaging capability; Wikipedia’s survey-style entry cites Chang’e 2 as capable of ~1.3 m resolution and notes other orbiters’ contributions to third‑party evidence of the landings [6]. However, public source material provided here emphasizes LRO/LROC for the clearest, sub‑meter pictures of hardware and tracks [4] [6].
5. What was imaged and how clearly
LROC images taken from low altitudes show hardware (Lunar Module descent stages), ALSEP packages, Surveyor hardware at Apollo 12, rover tracks and bootprints in places; NASA and its visualization studio assert the images show meter-scale and sub‑meter features and have been used to refine precise landing coordinates [8] [9] [3]. LROC’s featured-site pages and image galleries let users compare multiple images, lighting conditions and chronologies to inspect “anthropogenic” sites in detail [7] [5].
6. Sources, limits and competing emphases
Primary modern evidence in current reporting is dominated by LRO/LROC datasets and NASA visualizations; Lunar Orbiter imagery remains the authoritative early reconnaissance archive from 1966–67 [1] [2]. Other missions (e.g., Chang’e series) can add corroborating views at coarser resolution, but the provided sources do not include direct high-resolution Chang’e images of Apollo sites—available sources emphasize LRO for the clearest proofs [6] [4]. For exact image dates and individual image IDs, LROC’s Featured Sites and Images pages and NASA SVS visualizations document the specific LROC images used at each site [7] [5] [8].
7. How to verify individual image dates yourself
If you need the precise acquisition date for a given Apollo-site photo, consult LROC’s Featured Sites and Images pages (which list utilized site images and dates) or NASA SVS pages that annotate which LROC NAC/WAC datasets were used for the 3‑D visualizations and mosaics [7] [8] [5]. The LROC image gallery includes resolution and image IDs [5].
Limitations: these sources do not provide a single table listing every orbiter, each Apollo site, and every image date in one place; for mission‑by‑mission, image‑by‑image dates you must consult the LROC image listings and the Lunar Orbiter archives directly [7] [1] [5].