Lunar orbit Lunar orbit In astronomy, lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is the orbit of an object around the Moon. As used in the space program, this refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by various manned or unmanned spacecraft around the Moon. The altitude at apoapsis (point farthest from the surface) for a lunar orbit is known as apolune, apocynthion, or aposelene, while the periapsis (point closest to the surface) is known as perilune, pericynthion, or periselene, from names or epithets of the moon goddess. Low lunar orbit (LLO)—orbits below altitude—are
Near-Earth Asteroid Scout mission researchers argue that "characterization of NEAs that are larger than 20 m in diameter is also of great relevance to inform mitigation strategies for planetary defense." The planned target, subject to change, is near-Earth object 1991 VG. 1991 VG was discovered shortly before passing just 0.003 AU from earth on 6 November 1991, and returned within 0.06 AU of Earth in August 2017. It raised interest due to the close approach, and the expectation that such an Earth-similar orbit would not have long term orbital stability. Once the flyby is complete, and if the system is still fully functioning,