Coordinates and Maps of the Apollo 17 Landing Site

Abstract

We carried out an extensive cartographic analysis of the Apollo 17 landing site and determined and mapped positions of the astronauts, their equipment and lunar landmarks with accuracies of better than ±1 m in most cases. To determine coordinates in a lunar body-fixed coordinate frame we applied least-squares (2D-) network adjustments to angular measurements made in astronaut imagery (Hasselblad frames). The measured angular networks were accurately tied to control features provided by a 0.5 m/pixel, controlled Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) orthomosaic of the entire Taurus-Littrow Valley. Furthermore, by applying triangulation on measurements made in Hasselblad frames providing stereo views, we were able to relate individual instruments of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) to specific features captured in LROC imagery and, also, to determine coordinates of astronaut equipment or other surface features not captured in the orbital images, e.g. the deployed geophones and Explosive Packages (EPs) of the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment (LSPE), or the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) at major sampling stops. Our results were integrated into a new LROC NAC based Apollo 17 Traverse Map and also used to generate a series of large-scale maps of all nine traverse stations and of the ALSEP area. In addition, we provide crater measurements, profiles of the navigated traverse paths, and improved ranges of the sources and receivers of the active seismic experiment LSPE.