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This is quite an image. Phoenix on Mars.

How come we can't get similar resolution on the Apollo landing sites?

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Well, we got nearly that resolution with some of the Lunar Orbiter photos. One showed the Surveyor 1 spacecraft on the moon, while another showed the impact crater from one of the Ranger missions. We also got detailed high-res images during the Apollo missions with the ITEK Panoramic camera on board the service module during the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. Indeed, there are at least two images I know of which show the lunar module on the surface taken from lunar orbit. Of course, since there is no similar camera with that resolution currently in orbit around the moon, we can't get that fine detail. However, there *is* a spacecraft due to be launched later this year which will have sub-meter surface resolution: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter:

http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

Clear skies to you.

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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info

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