Is LRO still operating?

Yes. LRO remains an active NASA mission, continuing to map the Moon's surface, temperature, radiation environment, and support landing site selection for future missions.

Where Is LRO Now? Live Position, Altitude & Mission Status

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been circling the Moon since June 2009, making it the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission in history. Flying in a polar orbit that completes a full lap roughly every two hours, LRO has produced the most detailed maps of the lunar surface ever made, and its data was central to confirming water ice at the Moon's poles.

This page tracks LRO's real position using NASA/JPL's own Horizons ephemeris system — the same data rendered live on SatFleet Live's interactive Moon map, alongside its orbital path.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft — The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Quick Facts

Mission name	Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
Agency	NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
Launch	June 18, 2009, Atlas V, Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41
Lunar orbit insertion	June 23, 2009
Co-launched with	LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite)
Orbit type	Polar orbit around the Moon
Orbital period	Approximately 113 minutes
Mission status	Active — longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever flown

How This Live Data Works

The figures at the top of this page are not estimated or simulated. SatFleet Live queries NASA/JPL's Horizons system — the same ephemeris service used by planetary scientists — to calculate LRO's real position and altitude in real time.

On the Moon map, this same data is rendered as a moving marker with a traced orbital path over true lunar surface imagery, alongside Chandrayaan-2, Danuri, and every historic landing site from Apollo to Chang'e.

Mission Objectives

LRO was originally launched under NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate with an exploration-focused mission: find safe landing sites for future missions, locate potential resources, characterize the Moon's radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology. In September 2010, after completing its primary mission, LRO was handed over to NASA's Science Mission Directorate for an extended science mission that continues today.

Its instruments have produced a high-resolution global topographic model of the Moon, mapped surface temperature day and night, characterized the radiation environment for future astronauts, and imaged the Moon's permanently shadowed polar regions in search of ice. LRO's data now also directly supports NASA's Artemis program, helping identify safe, resource-rich landing sites near the lunar south pole.

The Seven Instruments

LROC

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera — a Narrow Angle Camera pair for meter-scale imaging and a Wide Angle Camera for broad context and mapping.

LOLA

Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter — produces a high-resolution global topographic map used for precise landing site selection.

Diviner (DLRE)

Measures surface and subsurface temperature across the lunar day and night in unprecedented detail.

LEND

Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector — maps hydrogen concentrations, a key indicator of possible water ice.

LAMP

Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project — a UV spectrometer that images permanently shadowed craters using starlight and airglow.

CRaTER

Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation — characterizes the radiation environment for future human missions.

Mini-RF

A dual-frequency radar technology demonstration used to search for ice deposits beneath the lunar surface.

Mapping the Moon: Key Discoveries

LRO's cameras have photographed every historic Apollo landing site in high resolution, revealing descent stages, scientific instruments left on the surface, and even the paths astronauts walked decades ago — imagery that remains some of the most widely viewed LRO has ever produced.

LRO image of an Apollo landing site on the Moon, showing the descent stage and astronaut footpaths — An Apollo landing site photographed by LRO's LROC camera, showing surface hardware and footpaths. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.

LRO's most significant scientific contribution came from its poles. Data from its instruments, combined with other missions, led to the direct confirmation in 2018 of water ice at the Moon's surface, concentrated inside permanently shadowed craters that never receive sunlight — most heavily at the south pole, with sparser deposits at the north.

Visualization of permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's south pole, based on LRO data — Permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole, mapped using LRO data. Credit: NASA/GSFC.

Mission Timeline

Jun 18, 2009Launch from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas V, co-manifested with LCROSS.
Jun 23, 2009LRO enters orbit around the Moon.
Sep 15, 2009Reaches its primary mapping orbit and begins its exploration-focused primary mission.
Sep 2010Mission handed to NASA's Science Mission Directorate for extended science operations.
2018LRO data helps confirm definitive water ice at the lunar surface in permanently shadowed polar craters.
2026LRO continues operating as the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever flown, supporting landing site selection for NASA's Artemis program.

Frequently Asked Questions

LRO is in a polar orbit around the Moon, completing a full orbit roughly every two hours. Its exact current altitude and ground-track position update automatically at the top of this page, sourced from NASA/JPL Horizons ephemeris data.

LRO launched on June 18, 2009, and entered lunar orbit on June 23, 2009. It is NASA's longest-lived lunar orbiting mission, still returning data more than 16 years later.

Yes. LRO remains an active NASA mission, continuing to map the Moon's surface, temperature, and radiation environment.

LRO's data was central to the 2018 confirmation of definitive water ice on the Moon's surface, concentrated in permanently shadowed craters near the poles.

Yes. LRO's LROC camera has captured high-resolution images of every Apollo landing site, showing descent stages, scientific equipment, and astronaut footpaths still visible on the surface.

SatFleet Live reads real ephemeris data from NASA/JPL's Horizons system and renders LRO's live position on an interactive 3D Moon globe, with its orbital path traced in real time.

Sources

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Missionscience.nasa.gov
About LROscience.nasa.gov
LRO: Observations for Lunar Exploration and Sciencentrs.nasa.gov

Explore More

See LRO moving live

Watch its real orbital path on an interactive 3D Moon globe, alongside Chandrayaan-2 and Danuri.

Open the Moon Tracker