KAGUYA (SELENE) Takes First HDTV Image November 15, 2007 The
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan
Broadcasting Corporation) have successfully taken the world's
first high-definition image of an Earth-rise by the lunar
explorer KAGUYA (SELENE). The expression “Earth-rise” refers to
a phenomenon seen only from satellites that travel around the
Moon, such as KAGUYA and the Apollo spacecraft. An Earth-rise
cannot be observed by a person who is on the Moon, as they will
always see Earth at the same position. The Apollo missions were
the first to take images of Earth rising over the Moon. KAGUYA
successfully captured high-definition images of the Earth-rise,
showing an impressive image of the blue Earth, which was the
only floating object in pitch-dark space. These are the world's
first high-definition Earth images, taken from about 380,000
kilometers away from the Earth in space. The image was taken by
KAGUYA's onboard high-definition television (HDTV), developed
for use in space by NHK. The mo