On Sept. 25, 2017, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft obtained the data used to produce this image of the Moon with its high-resolution PolyCam imager. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
Three days after its Earth flyby, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft examined the Moon using its high-resolution PolyCam imager. This image was produced using data taken Sept. 25, when the spacecraft was approximately 746,000 miles (1.2 million km) from the Moon, moving away at approximately 14,000 miles per hour (22,530 km per hour).
Familiar lunar features such as the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) and Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) are visible on the left. Also visible are features of the far side of the Moon, such as the mare plain surrounding Tsiolkovsky Crater (bottom right) and the bright ray systems surrounding the Giordano Bruno and Necho Craters (center). To produce this image, the OSIRIS-REx team registered and combined nine one-megapixel PolyCam images taken in quick succession using a technique called super-resolution imaging.
PolyCam is part of the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS) operated by the University of Arizona.