Second GRAIL spacecraft arrives in lunar orbit
Posted: Sun, Jan 1, 2012, 8:55 PM ET (0155 GMT)
Just over a day after the first of two NASA spacecraft went into orbit around the Moon, its twin successfully entered lunar orbit. The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) B spacecraft inserted itself into an elliptical lunar orbit at 5:43 pm EST (2143 GMT) Sunday after a 37-minute engine burn. GRAIL-B entered orbit just over 24 hours after GRAIL-A entered orbit around the Moon. The two spacecraft will circularize their orbits at an altitude of 55 kilometers by March, when the science mission begins. The two spacecraft will use radio signals to map the Moon's gravity, allowing scientists to better understand the lunar interior.
Just over a day after the first of two NASA spacecraft went into orbit around the Moon, its twin successfully entered lunar orbit. The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) B spacecraft inserted itself into an elliptical lunar orbit at 5:43 pm EST (2143 GMT) Sunday after a 37-minute engine burn. GRAIL-B entered orbit just over 24 hours after GRAIL-A entered orbit around the Moon. The two spacecraft will circularize their orbits at an altitude of 55 kilometers by March, when the science mission begins. The two spacecraft will use radio signals to map the Moon's gravity, allowing scientists to better understand the lunar interior.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, July 1
Move over Starlink, here comes Kuiper
Gulf News — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) USSF Seeks Industry Ideas For Space-Based Interceptors
Aviation Week — 4:57 am ET (0857 GMT) Don’t forget about Iran’s space program
POLITICO — 4:54 am ET (0854 GMT) EU Space Act is ‘orbital equivalent of GDPR’, says lawyer
Luxembourg Times — 4:53 am ET (0853 GMT) Poland’s second ever astronaut is safe in space
Euro Weekly News — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) |
