NASA Heads Back to Moon

June 18, 2009

NASA launched its debut mission in a new program aimed at returning astronauts to the moon.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter blasted off atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Thursday afternoon.

LRO will take four days to reach the moon, where it is expected to spend a year taking high-resolution images of 50 potential landing sites. NASA is preparing for a 2020 landing. 

Meanwhile, a small second satellite known as LCROSS was put into a long looping orbit around Earth to wait out some initial results from LRO's passes over the moon's southern pole. 

LCROSS remains attached to the Atlas rocket's upper-stage motor, which will become a 2,300-pound dead weight to smash into a lunar crater. Scientists want to see if there's any water ice inside. LCROSS will be flying about four minutes behind the Centaur upper stage to the material ejected out of the crater in the crash for signs of water vapor, ice and other materials. Telescopes on Earth and in space will join the observations as well. 

The impact is scheduled for Oct. 9.

 

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