... Shadows at the Lunar South Pole . ... To make it, the wide angle camera on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft collected 1,700 images over a period of 6 lunar days (6 Earth months), repeatedly covering an area centered on the Moon's south pole . ... Since the Moon's axis of rotation stays almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane , crater floors near the lunar south and north poles can remain in permanent shadow and mountain tops in nearly continuous sunlight. ... Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater...