Moon as Captured by Chang’e Probes

Moon Shot by Chang’e-1
On November 12, 2008, China published the first picture of the entire moon that was pieced together from photos taken by the Chang’e-1 satellite. This was the world’s most complete image of the moon ever published. The image of the lunar surface covered every corner of the mysterious moon: Chang’e-1 examined every inch of the moon and sent back complete data. This picture, processed from images shot by the satellite on Orbit 589, covers the area on the moon from 180 degrees east longitude to 180 degrees west longitude and between 90 degrees north latitude and 90 degrees south latitude.

Moon Shot by Chang’e-2
Mollweide projection of the entire moon. On February 6, 2012, China published an image of the whole moon with a resolution of seven meters. The Chang’e-2 probe adjusted its orbit several times and shot 746 images at this resolution, with total data of 800GB. Those pictures recorded the genuine landscape of the lunar surface. The resolution and quality of the images are the best in the world.

Moon Shot by Chang’e-3
A high-resolution picture of the lunar surface taken by Chang’e-3. On December 14, 2013, China’s Chang’e-3 probe successfully completed a soft landing on the moon, which marked China becoming the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to successfully make a soft landing on an extraterrestrial celestial body. Chang’e-3 started working shortly thereafter. In April 2016, China released the world’s highest-resolution colored picture of the moon shot by Chang’e-3 and the Yutu (Jade Rabbit) moon rover, presenting fresh material for the research of the moon globally. It was also the clearest picture of the moon in four decades since the Americans landed on the celestial body in 1969. The picture shows many details of the surface of the moon, ranging from the tracks of moon rover Yutu and rocks of all sizes to impact craters.