The Great Wall (Antoniadi crater)

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, is a system of three cameras mounted on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that capture high resolution black and white images like this one and moderate resolution multi-spectral images of the lunar surface.

The Moon is a rugged place, in fact some mountains rise more 8 km (5 miles) above the local terrain! A great way to visualize these amazing heights is to rotate the LRO spacecraft to the side and snap an astronaut's eye view of the terrain. In this example, LRO rolled 75° from its normal downward looking position, at an altitude of only 41 km (25 miles). The 4,000 m (13,120 ft) tall cliff in the background is the east wall of Antoniadi crater. The bottom of the small bowl-shaped crater tucked behind peaks in the center-ground is the lowest point on the Moon, more than 9 km (5.4 miles) below the lunar mean radius (comparable to sea level on the Earth). Imagine orbiting the Moon as this spectacular landscape passed beneath you!