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
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, June 29
France is betting Eutelsat can become Europe’s answer to Starlink — but experts aren’t convinced
CNBC — 7:20 am ET (1120 GMT) Blue Origin schedules launch for Sunday from West Texas
KTSM-TV El Paso — 7:18 am ET (1118 GMT) SpaceX Launch at Vandenberg SFB Wraps Up Busy 6 Months for Team
Noozhawk — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) India looks grand from space, Shubhanshu Shukla tells PM from Space Station
India Today — 7:16 am ET (1116 GMT) World ‘borderless’...India much larger than shown on maps: Astronaut Shukla tells PM Modi
The Hindu — 7:14 am ET (1114 GMT) |
