This photo of the Moon recorded the shock suffered by its own camera

On October 13, 2014, a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera photographed the lunar surface. The image suddenly has an irregular movement, very different from the usual sharp views. This defect becomes a clue: something briefly shook the instrument during the shooting.

The camera builds its image line by line, as the probe advances. The researchers therefore study the deformation and compare it to mechanical simulations. They conclude that a small meteoroid hit the radiator of one of the cameras. The proposed size, around eight tenths of a millimeter, depends on the assumptions of speed and density used.

The device continued to work. The photograph does not directly show the projectile, but it retains the trace of the vibration it would have caused. Usually, a space camera is asked to tell the landscape; this time, an imperfect image also told what happened to the camera itself.