NASA asks public to select best moon image for Lunar Orbiter Anniversary Collection

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

Washington: As NASA`s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) celebrates its fifth birthday in orbit on June 18, the space agency has asked the public to help in choosing the best orbiter image of the moon, which will be the cover of the special image collection. NASA has released top five images, dubbed as `Moon As Art`, to the public for voting. The images were selected based on their beauty and/or scientific value by orbiter mission team members. The public can vote for their favourite image of the moon till June 6. According to NASA, the public can vote at: http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov/MoonArt The winning cover image will be announced June 18 and the full Moon as Art collection of 24 images will be released at the same time. The finalist images are titled: Starry Night, Linne Crater, Clerke Crater, Diviner North Pole and Tycho Central Peak. On June 18, 2009, LRO was launched from Florida, where the orbiter successfully entered lunar orbit on June 23. Since then, LRO has provided the world with astounding views of the lunar surface and a plethora of exciting science data. LRO is managed by Goddard for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Pic credit: NASA`s Goddard Space Flight Center