Sixteen Years of Lunar Vision: Honoring the Legacy and Impact of the LROC Team

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on June 18, 2009—a mission that transformed lunar exploration and continues to shape our understanding of the Moon. Part of LRO’s mission is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team, now part of Intuitive Machines and based at our Super-Moon facility in Arizona.  

1 Full resolution detail from one of the first LROC NAC images. Read More: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/124

Since that moment, the LROC team has bult a scientific legacy that has defined modern lunar exploration. Over the past 16 years, they have:

·       Captured more than 2.3 million high-resolution Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images of the Moon

·       Produced many global maps at Wide Angle Camera (WAC) scale

·       Captured thousands of high-resolution regional NAC products

·       Mapped over 98% of the lunar surface

·       Supported NASA’s Artemis and CLPS landing site selection with detailed topographic models, Including Intuitive Machines’ first two missions

·       Provided calibrated imagery for use in terrain-relative navigation systems Released 1.74 PB, including over 3.9 million observations, to NASA’s Planetary Data System

2 Full resolution detail from one of the first LROC NAC images. Read More: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/124

These contributions have informed everything from Apollo landing site studies to next-generation mission planning and student-led lunar research. LROC has become more than a data provider-it is one of the Moon’s trusted cartographers.

Now an integral part of Intuitive Machines, the LROC team continues to work alongside our Optical Navigation and Data Transmission teams, enabling precise terrain modeling, autonomous surface operations, and the next phase of commercial lunar infrastructure. Their foundational data informs the development of Intuitive Machines’ navigation and timing systems and supports future customer payloads flying on our lunar data relay satellites.

Today, we celebrate the team whose work has illuminated more than shadowed craters—it has shaped how the world explores, lands, and learns from the Moon. Please join us in congratulating the Super-Moon team on 16 years of relentless dedication to the mission and technical excellence.