Twin NASA spacecraft to crash into the Moon on Monday
Posted: Fri, Dec 14, 2012, 7:59 AM ET (1259 GMT)
Two NASA spacecraft that have been studying the Moon's gravitational field since the beginning of the year will end their mission by crashing into the lunar surface on Monday. The twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft, dubbed "Ebb" and "Flow", will crash into a mountain in the Moon's northern polar regions at 5:29 pm EST (2229 GMT) Monday, the two impacts taking place 20 seconds apart. The spacecraft are running low on propellant needed to maintain their orbits, and the controlled crash is to ensure that the spacecraft don't instead hit one of the "heritage" sites elsewhere on the Moon associated with Apollo and other past missions. The impact site will be in shadow at the time of the impacts and thus no visible phenomena are expected. The two spacecraft, which entered lunar orbit at the beginning of 2012, have provided scientists with the best map yet of the Moon's gravity field, which in turn has provided insights on the Moon's interior structure.
Two NASA spacecraft that have been studying the Moon's gravitational field since the beginning of the year will end their mission by crashing into the lunar surface on Monday. The twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft, dubbed "Ebb" and "Flow", will crash into a mountain in the Moon's northern polar regions at 5:29 pm EST (2229 GMT) Monday, the two impacts taking place 20 seconds apart. The spacecraft are running low on propellant needed to maintain their orbits, and the controlled crash is to ensure that the spacecraft don't instead hit one of the "heritage" sites elsewhere on the Moon associated with Apollo and other past missions. The impact site will be in shadow at the time of the impacts and thus no visible phenomena are expected. The two spacecraft, which entered lunar orbit at the beginning of 2012, have provided scientists with the best map yet of the Moon's gravity field, which in turn has provided insights on the Moon's interior structure.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, August 27
ESA selects PLD Space to develop the next generation of private European launchers
PLD Space — 6:52 am ET (1052 GMT) Isar Aerospace signs contract with ESA under the European Launcher Challenge
Isar Aerospace — 6:51 am ET (1051 GMT) NBN Co’s Starlink rival delayed until mid 2027
WhistleOut — 6:50 am ET (1050 GMT) SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket Carrying Starlink Satellites From Vandenberg
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 6:43 am ET (1043 GMT) Louisiana governor ‘not concerned’ about environmental impact of Gulf Coast SpaceX facility
The Hill — 6:41 am ET (1041 GMT) |
