By . Rob Waugh . Last updated at 8:50 AM on 3rd January 2012 . Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up to capture shots of the huge Aristarchus crater on the moon - a feature so massive it's visible to the naked eye from Earth, created when a huge comet or asteroid slammed into a plateau on the surface. Sixteen miles up is just over twice the height that jets fly on Earth. The cliffs of the Aristarchus crater are two miles high - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon - with layers of minerals exposed by the huge impact tumbling into the crater below. Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up to capture shots of the huge Aristarchus crater on the moon - a feature so massive it's visible to the naked eye, created when a huge comet or asteroid slammed into a plateau on the surface . Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over at just 16 miles up, just over twice the height that jets fly on Earth - twice as low as the orbiter normally flies. The cliffs of Aristarchus are more than two miles high - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon . The ledges forming the wall of the crater, which look a lot like those of a strip mine, are blocks of surface rocks that slumped into the crater during the late stages of its formation . The archaeology of the huge crater is almost like a 'strip mine' on earth - cutting deep into the layers of minerals on the moon. The planners of the Apollo missions had the Aristarchus crater high on their list of targets for human exploration on the moon. This Hubble colour composite focuses on the Aristarchus impact crater, and uses colour information across the ultraviolet and infrared to accentuate differences between minerals . The images were acquired last year when the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter passed over just 16.2 miles above the surface; about two times lower than normal, and just above double the height that commercial jets fly on Earth. Aristarchus crater is located on the southeast edge of the Aristarchus Plateau. This gaping crater is 25 miles wide and more than two miles wide. Pyroclastic beads (volcanic glasses formed during fire-fountain style eruptions similar to those of Stromboli or the Hawaiian Islands) that blanket the area around the crater have slid down parts of the walls in dark streaks and clumps . The ledges forming the wall of the crater, which look a lot like those of a strip mine, are actually blocks of pre-impact crustal and surficial rocks that slumped into the crater during the late stages of its formation. The ledges forming the crater wall, which have a scalloped appearance, are sagging blocks of the pre-impact lunar crust. Bright and dark materials are exposed in patches along the walls. The floor of Aristarchus crater provides explorers a unique opportunity to study a wide variety of lunar rocks and geologic processes, possibly including how lunar granite forms. It's still not fully understood how granite formed on the moon - and Aristarchus crater is one of the best places to study it.
Orbiter flies past just 16.2 miles up .
Images of crater twice as deep as Grand Canyon .
Shows layers of minerals like strip mines on Earth .
By . Rob Waugh . Last updated at 8:50 AM on 3rd January 2012 . Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up to capture shots of the huge Aristarchus crater on the moon - a feature so massive it's visible to the naked eye from Earth, created when a huge comet or asteroid slammed into a plateau on the surface. Sixteen miles up is just over twice the height that jets fly on Earth. The cliffs of the Aristarchus crater are two miles high - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon - with layers of minerals exposed by the huge impact tumbling into the crater below. Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up to capture shots of the huge Aristarchus crater on the moon - a feature so massive it's visible to the naked eye, created when a huge comet or asteroid slammed into a plateau on the surface . Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over at just 16 miles up, just over twice the height that jets fly on Earth - twice as low as the orbiter normally flies. The cliffs of Aristarchus are more than two miles high - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon . The ledges forming the wall of the crater, which look a lot like those of a strip mine, are blocks of surface rocks that slumped into the crater during the late stages of its formation . The archaeology of the huge crater is almost like a 'strip mine' on earth - cutting deep into the layers of minerals on the moon. The planners of the Apollo missions had the Aristarchus crater high on their list of targets for human exploration on the moon. This Hubble colour composite focuses on the Aristarchus impact crater, and uses colour information across the ultraviolet and infrared to accentuate differences between minerals . The images were acquired last year when the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter passed over just 16.2 miles above the surface; about two times lower than normal, and just above double the height that commercial jets fly on Earth. Aristarchus crater is located on the southeast edge of the Aristarchus Plateau. This gaping crater is 25 miles wide and more than two miles wide. Pyroclastic beads (volcanic glasses formed during fire-fountain style eruptions similar to those of Stromboli or the Hawaiian Islands) that blanket the area around the crater have slid down parts of the walls in dark streaks and clumps . The ledges forming the wall of the crater, which look a lot like those of a strip mine, are actually blocks of pre-impact crustal and surficial rocks that slumped into the crater during the late stages of its formation. The ledges forming the crater wall, which have a scalloped appearance, are sagging blocks of the pre-impact lunar crust. Bright and dark materials are exposed in patches along the walls. The floor of Aristarchus crater provides explorers a unique opportunity to study a wide variety of lunar rocks and geologic processes, possibly including how lunar granite forms. It's still not fully understood how granite formed on the moon - and Aristarchus crater is one of the best places to study it.
Orbiter flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up deep as the Grand Canyon - with layers of jets fly on Earth - twice as low as the orbiter