Stunning high-definition movies of the Moon's surface from Japanese probe

Japanese probe Selene or Kaguya arrived at the moon last year, since then it is sending high definition movies and images of the moon’s surface back to Earth including “Earth rise” and “Earth set” views.

Selene (Kaguya) carries a large HDTV camera and takes videos and pictures as it orbits the moon just 100 km above the lunar surface. Their latest video footage is shown in the two videos here.

Professor Manabu Kato, science manager of the mission, wants to extend this technology to explore other planets including Mars next.

Selene consists of one main satellite along with two smaller sub-satellites, Ouna and Okina. It will carry out a full survey of the Moon’s surface. Only the front is viewable from Earth, but Selene will scan the entire surface and take a 3D topography scan including its gravity and magnetic fields.

Professor Manabu Kato is excited with the results so far and wants to move on to Mars next by 2025.

Selene developed by the Japanese Space Agency (Jaxa) is designed to be a technology demonstrator for the agency, testing orbital insertion and correction maneuvers and communications.

Selene carries 14 science instruments in addition to the HDTV camera. They include spectrometers and a multi-band imager to characterize the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface. The probe also carries a radar sounder to survey shallow subsurface features. You can click the link here to see the different categories of images, very useful for researchers.

Dr. Rie Honda talked about the HDTV camera’s inclusion in the mission with BBC and said it is mainly for educational purposes.

"We have been thinking that HDTV itself is not accurate enough for scientific purposes. But for giving a hint for other scientists of [wide areas], it will be,"

The HDTV camera was developed by Jaxa and the Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Check the videos and watch the “Earth rise” and “Earth set” pictures, it is spectacular.