Scientists using the camera aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are acquiring stereo images of the moon in high resolution (0.5 to 2 meters/pixel) that provide 3D views of the surface to make high resolution topographic maps. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC) team from the Univ. of Arizona and Arizona State Univ. are currently developing a processing system to automatically generate anaglyphs from most of these stereo pairs. An anaglyph is an image that can be viewed in 3D using red-blue/green glasses.

LROC acquires stereo images by targeting a location on the ground and taking an image from one angle on one orbit, and from a different angle on a subsequent orbit.

Anaglyphs are used to better understand the 3D structure of the lunar surface. The LROC NAC anaglyphs make lunar features such as craters, volcanic flows, lava tubes and tectonic features jump out in 3D. LROC NAC anaglyphs will make detailed images of the moon's surface accessible in 3D to the general public. The anaglyphs will be released through the LROC website and the NASA LRO website as they become available.