This image shows groundtracks of the D-CIXS X-ray telescope on board ESA's SMART-1. D-CIXS’s Facet 1 and Facet 3 are superimposed on the areas of the Moon overflown during observation which took place on 15 January 2005, during a solar flare. The centre track of each facet is also shown, along with the landing sites of the three Soviet Luna robotic landers. The underlying map is from USGS/PDS based on Clementine data (710nm ) and has been contrast enhanced.
A shocking birth for the Moon? SMART-1's researchers will examine the theory that our companion in space was made from the debris of a monstrous collision thousands of millions of years ago - between the newly born Earth and a smaller planet.
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