Mole Danuri moon observer. An unusual encounter occurred in the orbit of the Silver Globe

The distance between the two ships was very small and amounted to about 18 kilometers. A much older US satellite, which has been in orbit around the Silver Globe since 2009, has been immortalized by a vehicle that has only been there since the end of last year.

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Interestingly, most of the instruments aboard Danuri were designed by South Korean engineers, but NASA representatives were responsible for setting up the ShadowCam. This highly sensitive instrument is able to see even heavily shaded areas. This is possible by collecting light reflected from nearby geological structures that collect the glow coming from the ground. Some time ago we shared photos taken in this way.

However, while in most cases Danori focuses on what the lunar surface hides, this time he looked in a slightly different direction. That’s dab when LRO works. Their unusual meeting was very dynamic, both ships passed at a relative speed of more than 11,000 kilometers per hour. Given the short distance between these things, maneuvering the whole thing can be quite a challenge.

The Danori orbiter has been orbiting the moon since December last year. On the other hand, LRO entered Silver Globe orbit in 2009

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Thanks to computer processing of the captured images, we can see a relatively clear view of the US lunar rover. As you can see, even in the near-empty orbit of our own natural satellite, surprisingly close encounters can occur. Considering the plans for the construction of the so-called Lunar Gate, that is, a station located in the orbit of the Moon, we can expect an additional increase in “traffic jams” in this area. However, NASA has ambitious plans and intends not only to work in orbit at the Silver Globe, but also to build permanent bases on its surface.