Apollo 15's Lunar 'Halo' It's been 37 years since Apollo 15
astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin fired their ascent engines
and left the moon in their lunar module Falcon . But the signs
of their visit -- like those of the other 5 lunar landings --
are still there, and today's generation of spacecraft are
beginning to take a look. (Related: Hubble Shoots the Moon The
Japanese space agency's lunar mission SELENE (Selenological and
Engineering Explorer), also known as "Kaguya," has photographed
a potential "halo" (above) left by the engines of the Apollo 15
lunar module at the Hadley Rille landing site near the Appennine
Mountains (a "rille" is a long, canal-like depression on the
lunar surface). The "halo" is seen in the red circle in the 1
square kilometer image at left and the closeup at right. Scott
and Irwin also saw the halo after leaving the surface, but this
is the first time it has been photographed since the Apollo
days. A 3D view of the Hadley Rille landing site from SELENE's
Terrain Camera. The rille