Archive for the ‘Moon’ Category

LRO lift off – NASA is going back to the Moon

One of the first steps in NASA’s 21st century lunar endeavor will be the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, missions that will help to set the stage for future exploration and scientific research. The LRO payload, comprised of seven instruments, will provide vital data to enable a human return to the moon. Although LRO will remotely sense evidence of resources such as water ice in cold regions of the moon, the LRO launch will also carry another spacecraft, LCROSS, which will directly determine if water ice occurs in an area of permanent shadow near the lunar poles. LCROSS is a spectacular mission that is taking a novel approach at answering a lingering scientific question: does water ice exist on the moon? If the answer is yes, it could potentially be a useful resource for future exploration. LCROSS represents a new generation of fast development, cost-capped missions that use off-the-shelf hardware and flight-proven software to achieve focused mission goals. LCROSS also uses the spent second stage of theAtlas rocket, the Centaur, as an SUV-sized kinetic impactor – something that has never been done before-to excavate a small crater in the bottom of a permanently shadowed lunar crater. Whatever LCROSS discovers about the presence of water, it will increase our knowledge of the mineralogical makeup of some of the most remote areas of the moon—deep polar craters where sunshine never reaches. People around the world will take part in observation campaigns to witness the mission’s historic twin impacts on the lunar surface and their results. These companion missions, launched together on an Atlas V rocket, will mark the return of NASA to the moon and usher in a new era of scientific exploration of our sister in the solar system.

The trip to the moon will take approximately four days. LRO will then enter an elliptical orbit, also called the commissioning orbit. From there, it will be moved into its final orbit — a circular polar orbit approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the moon’s surface.

Lunar Approach
Separation: The Centaur and Shepherding Spacecraft will separate approximately nine hours and 40 minutes before Centaur impact at a height of about 54,059 miles (87,000 km) above the surface of the moon. 180° Maneuver: After separation from the Centaur, the Shepherding Spacecraft will perform a maneuver to create separation from the Centaur and orient the science payload toward the moon. Timing: The Shepherding Spacecraft will impact the lunar surface four minutes after the Centaur impact. At impact, the Centaur and Shepherding Spacecraft will be traveling approximately 1.55 miles per second (2.5 km/s). The vehicles will impact the lunar surface at approximately 60–70 degrees to the lunar surface.

Source: NASA