Today, NASA is going to launch a new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and a companion LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) impactor to the moon. This launch will mark NASA’s first step in its long awaited return to the moon. This mission is the first of several missions that may ultimately send man back to the moon within the next decade.

Today’s launch is remarkable because it is only the second time that NASA has launched a mission to the moon since the Apollo missions came to an end over 30 years ago. The previous mission was in 1998-1999.

Yet, remarkably, the LRO-LCROSS combo is only the second NASA-sponsored lunar mission since the Apollo landings ended more than 36 years ago. (The only other flight was Lunar Prospector, in 1998–99.)

According to plans, in about 5 days, the LRO will pass by the Moon and take up orbit around it. The LCROSS will separate from the LRO and take up a much larger orbit around the Moon.

The LRO is going to use it’s new and advanced instruments to make highly detailed maps of the moon. However, in October, the LCROSS is actually going to be slammed into a crater on the North or South lunar pole. When this happens, the Hubble and dozens of the world’s most powerful telescopes will be watching. The mission is hoping to answer the question as to whether or not frozen water is hidden under the surface of the permanently shadowed areas of the poles.

For more information and to watch LRO videos, click the following link:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/index.html

Tags: NASA, moon