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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA robotic spacecraft orbiting the Moon
Vehicle lunar_orbiter Q331778
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Summary

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a lunar orbiter[1]. It ranks in the top 5% of lunar orbiter entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (1,415 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • Operator: Goddard Space Flight Center[3]
  • Manufacturer: Goddard Space Flight Center[4]
  • Commons category: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter[5]
  • Space launch vehicle: Atlas V 401[6]
  • Parent astronomical body: Moon[7]
  • Powered by: spacecraft solar array[8], lithium-ion battery[9]
  • Type of orbit: polar orbit[10]
  • UTC date of spacecraft launch: June 18, 2009[11]
  • Service entry: September 15, 2009[12]
  • Significant event: rocket launch[13], orbital activity[14], service entry[15]
  • Official website: https://nasa.gov/LRO[16]
  • Topic's main category: Category:Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter[17]
  • Launch contractor: United Launch Alliance[18]
  • Orbital eccentricity: 0.0094[19]
  • Carries scientific instrument: Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation[20], Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment[21], Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project[22], Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector[23], Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter[24], Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera[25], Mini-RF[26]
  • Start point: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41[27]
  • Length: 2.62 m[28]
  • Height: 3.86 m[29]
  • Width: 2.74 m[30]
  • Mass: 1916 kg[31], 1018 kg[32]
  • Apoapsis: 107 km[33]
  • Periapsis: 73 km[34]
  • Payload mass: 92.6 kg[35]
  • Epoch: February 24, 2024[36]

Why It Matters

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has Wikipedia articles in 25 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[37] It is known by 31 alternative names across languages and contexts.[38]

Related Entities

Atlas V 401 Goddard Space Flight Center lunar orbiter United Launch Alliance

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [3] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] ↑ . Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
  5. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [8] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  7. [9] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  8. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [11] ↑ . Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
  10. [12] ↑ . The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission – Six years of science and exploration at the Moon. wikidata.org.
  11. [13] ↑ . Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
  12. [14] ↑ . The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission – Six years of science and exploration at the Moon. wikidata.org.
  13. [15] ↑ . The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission – Six years of science and exploration at the Moon. wikidata.org.
  14. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
  26. [28] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  27. [29] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  28. [30] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  29. [31] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  30. [32] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  31. [33] ↑ . lroc.sese.asu.edu. lroc.sese.asu.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  32. [34] ↑ . lroc.sese.asu.edu. lroc.sese.asu.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  33. [35] ↑ . nasa.gov. nasa.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  34. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [37] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [38] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter
MLA “Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 14 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-14}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter — https://4ort.xyz/entity/lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter (retrieved 2026-10-14)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 13w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Nssdca id → —
    Length → {'unit': 'Q11573', 'amount': '+2.62'}
    Mass → —
    Image → —
    + 78 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/40849|batch #40849]]: ZGBK ID"
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