D. L. Light, Moonsat: An Orbital Imaging System for Mapping the Moon,
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 60(12):1421-1429. December, 1994.

NASA gathered volumes of lunar surface imagery in preparation for the landings of the Apollo Program. Frame and panchromatic cameras photographed the Moon's surface between 10°S and 27°N. The resolution was comparatively crude. On final descent, the crew of Apollo 11 avoided boulders in a field earlier classified as a smooth plateau.

In 1994, Dr. Light proposed a remote sensing platform to complete mapping of the lunar globe at 4m meter resolution. Achieving a favorable orbit for sensing must account for the unique planetary characteristics of Earth's moon. Being a tidally-locked body, the moon take 27.32 earth days to complete its rotation. From the Sun's perspective, it is 29.53 days from full moon to full moon. The platform's chosen orbit must maintain consistent lighting conditions with these variables.

The proposed polar orbiting spacecraft would deploy a panchromatic stereo camera sensing 0.5um to 0.8 4m at 4m resolution. At 10 resolution, the multispectral camera would sense blue at .4um for the signature of titanium and iron rock, green at .56um for highland rock and basalts, red at .7um for ferric iron, and near infrared sensors at .95um and 1.2um for olivine and pyrozene.

The processed high-spatial-resolution data product would include image maps, a DEM from the stereo imagery, and 1:50,000 scale topographic map. The multispectral imagery would identify surface mineralogy, soil composition, polar water ice, rock type and rock age.