NASA's Dual LRO and LCROSS Mission Launches Coming Up Soon—June 17th! May 25, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : LCROSS, Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, NASA , trackback
An exciting step for NASA is coming up fast: the combined launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO; pictured above) and the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS; pictured below) is set for June 17th.
The two craft will orbit the moon, with the LRO taking measurements of potential environmental hazards, such as radiation and lunar dust (specifically, areas where the dust will be extra-charged and therefore even more of a nuisance than usual), and with the LCROSS creating an impact in a deep-shadow crater and studying the resulting plume to see if there’s potential water ice.
As the missions get underway, I’m going to be rolling out a lot of features here at Luna C/I covering many aspects of the craft, and the work they are looking to do. Should be exciting times (and a big PR time for Constellation), so save that date, and keep an eye out for updates and detailed looks to be beginning here soon :)
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