Kaguya, the famous Japanese Moon probe, is orbiting the Moon since October 18 and so far is doing an amazing job.

According to JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kaguya successfully shot high-definition images of the Earth-rise showing an impressive image of the blue Earth which was the only floating object in pitch-dark space.

Earth-rise is a phenomenon seen only from satellites that travel around the Moon, such as the Kaguya and the Apollo space ship. The Earth-rise cannot be observed by a person who is on the Moon as they can always see the Earth at the same position.

The Apollo project was the first mission to take images of Earth rising over the Moon. Two satellites carried by Kaguya, including one that will eventually land on the moon, have already been launched into lunar orbit to help the lunar mapping project.

Kaguya has taken these pictures thanks to the equipment provided by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).

The amazing images that the Japanese lunar probe took are to be broadcast in high definition during “Return to the Moon: The First Images”, a 30-minute special set to air on Discovery HD.

In one of the pictures, dubbed “Earth-set”, our planet appears upside-down. So, one could see Earth’s Asian and Australian continents, but they are hard to recognize, as they are practically upside-down from the way we are used to seeing them on the map.

In another image the Moon's surface is near the North Pole, and the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean can be observed on the Earth.

The images are available on JAXA website.

Kaguya was launched in September 14, 2007, and it represents the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft.

The $272-million Kaguya project is the largest lunar mission - and the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission - since the Apollo program. Kaguya’s satellites will carry out 14 missions, including measuring the moon's gravity and determining its origin and evolution.

The results are expected to lead to a better overall understanding of the Moon’s evolution. At the same time, the observation equipment installed on the orbiting satellite will observe plasma, the electromagnetic field and high-energy particles. The data obtained in this way will be of great scientific importance for exploring the possibility of using the moon for human endeavors.