Question 1

True or false: By 2019, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter had been orbiting the Moon for over a decade, far exceeding its original one-year mission.

Accepted Answer

True. Launched in 2009, LRO completed its primary one-year mission and continues to provide data well past a decade.

Question 2

True or false: LRO was built to search for signs of alien structures on the far side of the Moon.

Accepted Answer

False. LRO's purpose is scientific mapping and resource assessment for future human exploration, not alien archaeology.

Question 3

True or false: LRO's camera can resolve objects as small as a beach ball on the lunar surface.

Accepted Answer

False. LRO's narrow-angle camera resolves about 0.5 meters per pixel, not small enough for a beach ball, which is ~0.3 meters.

Question 4

True or false: LRO captured high-resolution images of Apollo landing sites, revealing descent stages, rover tracks, and equipment.

Accepted Answer

True. LRO's narrow-angle camera (0.5 m/pixel) acquired images from 2009 that clearly show Apollo hardware and surface tracks.

Question 5

True or false: The LRO carries a miniaturized atomic clock for precise navigation tests in lunar orbit.

Accepted Answer

False. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter does not carry an atomic clock. A miniaturized atomic clock was tested separately on the Deep Space Atomic Clock mission aboard the Orbital Test Bed satellite.

Question 6

True or false: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter confirmed water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's south pole.

Accepted Answer

True. LRO's LAMP and Diviner instruments detected water ice in cold traps, supporting future lunar exploration.

Question 7

True or false: LRO carries a laser altimeter that shoots the Moon's surface 28 times per second to build 3D maps.

Accepted Answer

True. LOLA fires 28 laser pulses per second, measuring elevation to create the most precise lunar topographic maps ever.

Question 8

True or false: In 2015, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's orbit was adjusted so that it occasionally passed just 20 kilometers above lunar mountain peaks.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2015, LRO's orbit was lowered to a periapsis of ~20 km over the south pole, where it indeed passed above mountainous terrain.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Trivia Questions