No spacesuit or rocket ship is required! Moon Zoo allows you to explore the Moon’s surface in unprecedented detail – and help scientists along the way. New high-resolution images, taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), offer exciting clues to unveil or reveal the history of the moon and our solar system. You can help us to organise and understand these images.

“We need Web users around the world to help us interpret these stunning new images of the lunar surface,” said Chris Lintott of Oxford University and chair of the Citizen Science Alliance. “If you only spend five minutes on the site counting craters you’ll be making a valuable contribution to science and, who knows, you might run across a Russian spacecraft.”

Scientists are particularly interested in knowing how many craters appear in a particular region of the moon in order to determine the age and depth of the lunar surface (regolith). Fresh craters left by recent impacts provide clues about the potential risks from meteor strikes on the moon and on Earth.

“We hope to address key questions about the impact bombardment history of the moon and discover sites of geological interest that have never been seen before,” said Katherine Joy of the Lunar and Planetary Institute and a Moon Zoo science team member.

So go and start exploring the Moon! Take a look at the tutorial to learn how it works and then begin getting up-close an personal with our closest astronomical neighbour.

For more information about Moon Zoo, visit: http://www.moonzoo.org. For more information about the NASA Lunar Science Institute, visit: http://www.lunarscience.nasa.gov. For more information about LRO and LROC, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/lro and http://www.lroc.sese.asu.edu/