The Iron Moon

About This Image

In March and April of 1994 the unmanned Clementine spacecraft demonstrated the technique of prospecting on the Moon from lunar orbit. To accomplish this, Clementine turned an array of cameras sensitive to ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared light toward the lunar surface, producing the first broad-spectrum global imaging of the moon. Using this data, scientists were able to create the above map showing the concentration of iron in the lunar soils. The striking difference between the near (left) and farside (right) hemisphere's offers clues about the Moon's early history.