Science/Tech

New Earthrise Simulation Video Released By NASA

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Dec 23, 2013 11:16 AM EST

Earthrise is the name that has been given to the first color photograph of Earth that was taken by a human being in the lunar orbit.

A new visualization has been released by NASA that shows how Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, along with his crew members William A. Anders and James A. Lovell photographed the stunning scene on December 24, 1968.

The visualization is created with data obtained from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft and also includes the details from the previous visualization.

“The Earthrise visualization that we released for Earth Day last year really only scratched the surface,” said Ernie Wright, project lead with the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md, according to TG Daily.

“The new visualization tells us not only what time the photos were taken, but also exactly which way the spacecraft was pointing and therefore which window each photo was taken from. This will also be the first time we’ve released a video that’s synchronized with the onboard audio recording of the astronauts.”

The first ever “Earthrise” photo has been also sent back to the moon which weighed 700 MB in size. With the new technology it only took a fraction of time for sending and receiving the images compared to that it took in 1966.

Data obtained from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft played a vital role in creating the Apollo 8 event. “Matching Apollo photography to the lunar terrain required an accuracy and completeness that I think only LRO’s data could provide,” added Wright according to TG Daily.

“I worked at a level of detail that required 100-meter resolution with perfect registration. You gain a new appreciation for the care of the LRO scientists who create this data when you get your virtual camera set up and the overlaid Apollo photography just snaps into place.”

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