A Breathtaking Lunar Panorama, Taken From China’s Moon Lander
- 1:32 pm |
It’s been more than 40 years since anyone’s actually stood on the moon, but thanks to the Chinese space agency and the magic of the internet, you can be virtually transported to Earth’s natural satellite.
This interactive panorama uses images from the Chang’e 3 lunar lander, which touched down on the moon in December. It was assembled by photographer Andrew Bodrov of Estonia (check out the fullscreen view for the Apollo astronaut effect). You can pan and zoom over the gray landscape, spotting craters and even our blue and green home planet hanging in the sky.
Chang’e 3 is the first probe to soft land on the moon since Russia’s Luna 24 touched down in 1976. The lander includes scientific instruments, cameras, and a tiny rover named Yutu after the mythical pet rabbit of Chang’e, the goddess of the moon. The conspiracy theorists wondering why there aren’t any stars in the panorama should read up on how cameras and lighting work.