PASADENA, CA. — NASA conducted a lunar surface impact mission of its twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft Monday, Dec. 17. The event was broadcast on NASA Television and streamed on the agency’s website.
The two probes hit a mountain near the lunar north pole at approximately 2:28 p.m. Monday, bringing their successful prime and extended science missions to an end.
Commentary originated from the control room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
Data from the GRAIL twins are allowing scientists to learn about the moon’s internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. The two probes are being sent purposely into the moon because they do not have enough altitude or fuel to continue science operations.
Last Flight for GRAIL’s Twin Spacecraft
This animation shows the final flight path for NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission spacecraft, which will impact the moon on Dec. 17, 2012, around 2:28 p.m. PST. Their successful prime and extended science missions now completed, the twin GRAIL spacecraft Ebb and Flow are being sent purposefully into the moon because their low orbit and fuel state precludes further scientific operations.
The animations were created from data obtained by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/ASU
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