A stunning new video was just released by NASA showing the mysterious far side of the Moon that's hidden from human eyes when the Moon shines in the sky.

Using mapping data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, this video debunks the appearance of the "dark side" of the moon. This side apparently isn't always dark but also takes turns getting sunlight and darkness like the side of the Moon that faces the Earth.

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NASA describes this other side as similar to the near side that also experiences a complete cycle of phases. The dark side's terrain is dramatically different since it lacks dark large spots called maria that forms the Man in the Moon often seen on the near side.

This video reveals images from the LRO collected beginning 2009. Previous images of the Moon's other side were fuzzy photographs taken by the Soviet probe called Luna 3 in 1959.

People on Earth see only one side of the Moon because it's tidally locked by the gravitational forces of our planet. The only way to see the other side is from a spacecraft orbiting that side and examining the hidden features of the Moon.

The NASA orbiter uses a precise laser altimeter that works together with its camera to provide the most detailed images of the rough terrain that's been hidden from Earth.

NASA also reveals that even if the other side lacks dark maria or lunar seas, this side is covered by large and smaller craters and the South Pole's Aitken basin that apparently has the largest and the oldest impact craters found in the solar system.

The LRO currently orbits the Moon's polar regions. This is the space agency's first lunar mission in more than 10 years.

The US$500 million LRO mission has sent back terabytes of data that can help determine which landing sites on the Moon are most suitable for future missions. Data from the LRO could also locate possible mining sites for new energy sources.

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio consolidated images from the LRO to make this amazing video .

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