The amazing photos show the missions' lunar modules as well as astronauts' footpaths and instruments that remain on the surface of the moon.
NASA said the LRO captured the images between July 11 and July 1. The agency said the images were taken before the LRO reached its final mapping orbit and expected future images to have two to three times greater resolution."The LROC team anxiously awaited each image," LROC principal investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University said. "We were very interested in getting our first peek at the lunar module descent stages just for the thrill – and to see how well the cameras had come into focus. Indeed, the images are fantastic and so is the focus."
The Apollo program, which began in 1963 and ran through 1972, was designed to land humans on the moon and return them safely to earth. Six of the missions achieved that goal, starting with Apollo 11 in July of 1969.
NASA said the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) was able to image five of the six Apollo sites, with the remaining Apollo 12 site expected to be photographed in the coming weeks.
Click on the thumbnails to reveal larger images.
Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.
For more information on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, click here.
– MATT ROMANOSKI, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM