Twin NASA spacecraft to plunge into lunar mountain
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ebb and Flow chased each other around the moon for nearly a year, peering into the interior. With dwindling fuel supplies, the twin NASA spacecraft are ready for a dramatic finish.
On Monday, they will plunge - seconds apart - into a mountain near the moon's north pole. It's a carefully choreographed ending so that they don't end up crashing into the Apollo landing sites or any other place on the moon with special importance.
Skywatchers on Earth won't be able to view the double impacts since they will occur in the dark.
"We're not putting out an all-points bulletin to amateur astronomers to get their telescopes out," said mission chief scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Earthlings may be shut out of the spectacle, but the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the moon will pass over the crash site and attempt to photograph the skid marks left by the washing machine sized-spacecraft as they slam into the surface at 3,800 mph.
After rocketing off the launch pad in September 2011, Ebb and Flow took a roundabout journey to the moon, arriving over the New Year's holiday.
More than 100 missions have been flung to Earth's nearest neighbor since the dawn of the Space Age including NASA's six Apollo moon landings that put 12 astronauts on the surface.
The imminent demise of Ebb and Flow comes on the same month as the 40th launch anniversary of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon.
Ebb and Flow focused exclusively on measuring the moon's lumpy gravity field in a bid to learn more about its interior and early history. After flying in formation for months, they produced the most detailed gravity maps of any body in the solar system.
Secrets long held by the moon are spilling out. Ebb and Flow discovered that the lunar crust is much thinner than scientists had imagined. And it was severely battered by asteroids and comets in the early years of the solar system - more than previously realized.
Data so far also appeared to quash the theory that Earth once had two moons that collided and melded into the one we see today.
Besides a scientific return, the mission allowed students to take their own pictures of craters and other lunar features as part of collaboration with a science education company founded by Sally Ride. Ride, the first American woman in space, died of pancreatic cancer in July at age 61.
Scientists expect to sift through data from the $487 million mission for years.
Obtaining precise gravity calculations required the twins to circle low over the moon, which consumes a lot of fuel. During the primary mission, they flew about 35 miles above the lunar surface. After getting bonus data-collecting time, they lowered their altitude to 14 miles above the surface.
With their fuel tanks almost on empty, NASA devised a controlled crash to avoid contacting any of the treasured sites on the moon.
The last time the space agency intentionally fired manmade objects at the moon was in 2009, but it was for the sake of science. The crash was a public relations dud - spectators barely saw a faint flash - but the experiment proved that the moon contained water.
On Monday, they will plunge - seconds apart - into a mountain near the moon's north pole. It's a carefully choreographed ending so that they don't end up crashing into the Apollo landing sites or any other place on the moon with special importance.
Skywatchers on Earth won't be able to view the double impacts since they will occur in the dark.
"We're not putting out an all-points bulletin to amateur astronomers to get their telescopes out," said mission chief scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Earthlings may be shut out of the spectacle, but the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the moon will pass over the crash site and attempt to photograph the skid marks left by the washing machine sized-spacecraft as they slam into the surface at 3,800 mph.
After rocketing off the launch pad in September 2011, Ebb and Flow took a roundabout journey to the moon, arriving over the New Year's holiday.
More than 100 missions have been flung to Earth's nearest neighbor since the dawn of the Space Age including NASA's six Apollo moon landings that put 12 astronauts on the surface.
The imminent demise of Ebb and Flow comes on the same month as the 40th launch anniversary of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon.
Ebb and Flow focused exclusively on measuring the moon's lumpy gravity field in a bid to learn more about its interior and early history. After flying in formation for months, they produced the most detailed gravity maps of any body in the solar system.
Secrets long held by the moon are spilling out. Ebb and Flow discovered that the lunar crust is much thinner than scientists had imagined. And it was severely battered by asteroids and comets in the early years of the solar system - more than previously realized.
Data so far also appeared to quash the theory that Earth once had two moons that collided and melded into the one we see today.
Besides a scientific return, the mission allowed students to take their own pictures of craters and other lunar features as part of collaboration with a science education company founded by Sally Ride. Ride, the first American woman in space, died of pancreatic cancer in July at age 61.
Scientists expect to sift through data from the $487 million mission for years.
Obtaining precise gravity calculations required the twins to circle low over the moon, which consumes a lot of fuel. During the primary mission, they flew about 35 miles above the lunar surface. After getting bonus data-collecting time, they lowered their altitude to 14 miles above the surface.
With their fuel tanks almost on empty, NASA devised a controlled crash to avoid contacting any of the treasured sites on the moon.
The last time the space agency intentionally fired manmade objects at the moon was in 2009, but it was for the sake of science. The crash was a public relations dud - spectators barely saw a faint flash - but the experiment proved that the moon contained water.
Don't hit the Monolith.
@axpman I was kind of worried about Hewey....or was it Louie or Dewey?
What gives NASA the right to deface the Moon?
 @August100 Who's going to stop them?
So when are we going to send an astronaut with a shovel up there?
 @JustAnotherPersonÂ
I can see it now. Some alien visits the moon and sees all the trash we have up there. They will think that our landfills are overflowing and we have to ship our garbage to the moon.
We know so little about our closest neighbor and even less about the rest of the planets. We know almost nothing about the solar system and nothing about distant galaxies and rest of the universe.
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After many years of figuring out how we got the moon they still aren't sure. If they aren't sure about that how can they get anything right about distant galaxies.
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We are pompous arrogant humans that think we are smart when in reality we know very little.
@RalphCramden Heck we still don't know everything about our own bodies or our own world.