Overview
- The UCL-led team reports in npj Space Exploration that its YOLO-ETA model spotted features consistent with Luna 9 in NASA’s LRO images.
- Researchers validated the algorithm by locating the known Luna 16 lander before applying it to the decades‑old Luna 9 search.
- The study stresses the find is not definitive and urges NASA to conduct targeted, higher‑resolution re‑imaging with LRO.
- Independent searcher Vitaly Egorov identified a promising region in LROC live data, though the precise point remains unresolved.
- Lunar cartographer Philip Stooke says no candidate is proven and considers Egorov’s site more promising, as new passes by Chandrayaan‑2 in March and future missions like Firefly’s Elytra could help confirm.