|
+ Play
Audio
|
+ Download Audio | +
Email to a friend | +
Join mailing list
Sept.
11, 2009: NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite (LCROSS) is racing toward a double-impact on the
moon at 7:30 am EDT on Oct. 9th. Today NASA announced exactly
where the crash will take place.
The
target crater is Cabeus A. It was selected after an extensive
review of the best places to excavate frozen water at the
lunar south pole.
Above:
Craters of interest around the lunar south pole. LCROSS is
targeting Cabeus A. Image credit: NMSU/MSFC Tortugas Observatory.
"The selection of Cabeus A was a result of a vigorous
debate within the lunar science community. We reviewed the
latest data from Earth-based observatories and our fellow
lunar missions Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1, and the Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter," says Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist
and principle investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center.
"The team is looking forward to wealth of information
this unique mission will produce."
LCROSS
will search for ice by plunging its spent upper-stage Centaur
rocket into the permanent shadows of Cabeus A, where water
might be trapped in frozen form. The LCROSS satellite will
then fly into the plume of debris kicked up by the impact
and measure the properties of the plume before it also collides
with the lunar surface.
The
LCROSS team selected Cabeus A based on a set of conditions that
includes favorable illumination of the debris plume for visibility
from Earth, where astronomers will be watching closely. Cabeus
A also has a high concentration of hydrogen (a constituent of
water, H2O) and favorable terrain such as a flat
floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders.
Professional
astronomers will use many of Earth's most capable observatories
to monitor the impacts. These observatories include the Infrared
Telescope Facility and Keck telescope in Hawaii; the Magdalena
Ridge and Apache Ridge Observatories in New Mexico and the
MMT Observatory in Arizona; the newly refurbished Hubble Space
Telescope; and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, among others.
Amateur
astronomers can monitor the impact, too. Observing tips may
be found here.
"Telescopes
participating in the LCROSS Observation Campaign will provide
observations from different vantage points using different
types of measurement techniques," says Jennifer Heldmann,
lead for the LCROSS Observation Campaign at Ames. "These
multiple observations will complement the LCROSS spacecraft
data to help determine whether or not water ice exists in
Cabeus A."
 During
a media briefing Sept. 11, Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project
manager at Ames, provided a mission status update: The spacecraft
is healthy and has enough fuel to successfully accomplish
all mission objectives. Andrews also announced the dedication
of the LCROSS mission to the memory of legendary news anchor,
Walter Cronkite, who provided coverage of NASA's missions
from the beginning of America's manned space program to the
age of the space shuttle.
Right:
The LCROSS mission has been dedicated to the memory of Walter
Cronkite, who covered NASA missions from Mercury through the
space shuttle. Image credit: CBS News. [more]
"Dad
would sure be proud to be part, if just in name, of getting
humans back up to the moon and beyond," says Chip Cronkite,
son of the famed news anchor.
"We're
looking forward to October 9th," Andrews says. "The
next 28 days will undoubtedly be very exciting."
Cabeus
A, here we come!
Editor: Dr.
Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
|
