Probes in orbit to map moon interior

Posted January 02, 2012 12:37:34

Two robotic probes have begun orbiting the moon in preparation for an unprecedented mission to map the lunar interior.

NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft wrapped up a 2.6-million-mile journey to put themselves into lunar orbit on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the next two months, the probes' 55-kilometre-high orbits will be adjusted to get them into optimal position to measure the pushes and pulls of the moon's gravity, data that scientists can use to model what is inside the moon.

Information on the moon's interior is a key piece of information still missing despite more than 100 previous missions to the moon, including six human expeditions.

"Pop the bubbly and toast the moon," NASA wrote on its Twitter feed after the first GRAIL spacecraft finished a 40-minute braking manoeuvre on New Year's Eve.

The second spacecraft followed suit 25 hours later.

The probes work together and are both needed for the intricate gravity-mapping mission, scheduled to begin in March.

Over the next two months, the probes' orbits will be tweaked until they are flying in formation low over the lunar poles.





However, questions remain about how the moon evolved.



The mission is scheduled to last 82 days, but if the solar-powered probes survive beyond the next lunar eclipse in June, the $500 million mission could be extended for a more detailed mapping survey.


Topics: the-moon, science-and-technology, astronomy-space, spacecraft, united-states