Peering into Permanent Darkness
During a lunar month, the side of the Moon facing Earth is alternatingly bathed in light and shadow. It’s a cycle we are all used to, the lunar disk waxing and waning between full and new.
However, there are parts of the Moon, buried deep in craters near the poles, that have not seen the light of the Sun in hundreds of millions of years (perhaps even longer). These simulated images show the various tools that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter uses to peer into these dark regions, looking for rare chemicals in some of the coldest places in the solar system.
Check out more at NBC News and watch a full animation at NASA’s visualization studio.