The Moon: As seen by Galileo in 1992			Catalog #: PIA00405
			During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. The Galileo spacecraft took this image on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin.
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Image Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Planetary Facts Equatorial radius: 1738 km Mass (relative to Earth): 0.0123 Density: 3.34 g/cm3 Surface gravity: 0.17 (relative to Earth) Rotation period: 27.32 days Axial inclination: 6.67° Distance from Earth: 384,400 km Orbital period: 27.32 days Composition of surface: rocky Mean surface temperature: 1°C Composition of atmosphere: argon, helium, atomic oxygen, sodium, potassium		During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. The Galileo spacecraft took these images on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin. The dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins: Oceanus Procellarum (on the left), Mare Imbrium (center left), Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis (center), and Mare Crisium (near the right edge). This picture contains images through the Violet, 756 nm, 968 nm filters. The color is 'enhanced' in the sense that the CCD camera is sensitive to near infrared wavelengths of light beyond human vision. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
		David A. Rothery	Return to top of page