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[vanillasky]

 Now firmly in orbit, the European Space Agency's SMART-1 is seeking out a spot at the Moon's north pole that could be bathed in constant sunlight. Scientists are predicting that there's a spot, a few square kilometres in size across that is constantly heated by the sun, and would be the perfect spot for a lunar base. Finding the area is difficult, though, because we don't get a good view from Earth, and the shadows in this region are very long and can obscure the details.

The image shows a 275 km area close to the North pole (upper left corner) observed by SMART-1 on 29 December 2004 from a distance of 5500 km. This shows a heavily cratered highland terrain, and is used to monitor illumination of polar areas, and long shadows cast by large crater rims.

SMART-1 also observated a North polar area 250 km wide on 19 January 2005 (close to North winter solstice) from a distance of 5000 km. The illuminated part of crater rim is very close to the North pole and is a candidate for a peak of eternal sunlight.