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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO NATIONAL, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:
NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ground
controllers at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.,
have confirmed that NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment
Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft impacted the surface of the moon, as
planned, between 9:30 and 10:22 p.m. PDT Thursday, April 17.
LADEE lacked fuel to maintain a long-term lunar orbit or continue
science operations and was intentionally sent into the lunar surface.
The spacecraft's orbit naturally decayed following the mission's final
low-altitude science phase.
During impact, engineers believe the LADEE spacecraft, the size of a
vending machine, broke apart, with most of the spacecraft's material
heating up several hundred degrees - or even vaporizing - at the
surface. Any material that remained is likely buried in shallow
craters.
"At the time of impact, LADEE was traveling at a speed of 3,600 miles
per hour - about three times the speed of a high-powered rifle
bullet," said Rick Elphic, LADEE project scientist at Ames. "There's
nothing gentle about impact at these speeds - it's just a question of
whether LADEE made a localized craterlet on a hillside or scattered
debris across a flat area. It will be interesting to see what kind of
feature LADEE has created."
In early April, the spacecraft was commanded to carry out maneuvers
that would lower its closest approach to the lunar surface. The new
orbit brought LADEE to altitudes below one mile (two kilometers) above
the lunar surface. This is lower than most commercial airliners fly
above Earth, enabling scientists to gather unprecedented science
measurements.
On April 11, LADEE performed a final maneuver to ensure a trajectory
that caused the spacecraft to impact the far side of the moon, which
is not in view of Earth or near any previous lunar mission landings.
LADEE also survived the total lunar eclipse on April 14 to 15. This
demonstrated the spacecraft's ability to endure low temperatures and a
drain on batteries as it, and the moon, passed through Earth's deep
shadow.
In the coming months, mission controllers will determine the exact
time and location of LADEE's impact and work with the agency's Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team to possibly capture an image of the
impact site. Launched in June 2009, LRO provides data and detailed
images of the lunar surface.
"It's bittersweet knowing we have received the final transmission from
the LADEE spacecraft after spending years building it in-house at
Ames, and then being in constant contact as it circled the moon for
the last several months," said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at
Ames.
Launched in September 2013 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in
Virginia, LADEE began orbiting the moon Oct. 6 and gathering science
data Nov. 10. The spacecraft entered its science orbit around the
moon's equator on Nov. 20, and in March 2014, LADEE extended its
mission operations following a highly successful 100-day primary
science phase.
LADEE also hosted NASA's first dedicated system for two-way
communication using laser instead of radio waves. The Lunar Laser
Communication Demonstration (LLCD) made history using a pulsed laser
beam to transmit data over the 239,000 miles from the moon to the
Earth at a record-breaking download rate of 622 megabits-per-second
(Mbps). In addition, an error-free data upload rate of 20 Mbps was
transmitted from the primary ground station in New Mexico to the Laser
Communications Space Terminal aboard LADEE.
LADEE gathered detailed information about the structure and
composition of the thin lunar atmosphere. In addition, scientists hope
to use the data to address a long-standing question: Was lunar dust,
electrically charged by sunlight, responsible for the pre-sunrise glow
seen above the lunar horizon during several Apollo missions?
"LADEE was a mission of firsts, achieving yet another first by
successfully flying more than100 orbits at extremely low altitudes,"
said Joan Salute, LADEE program executive,at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "Although a risky decision, we're already seeing evidence
that the risk was worth taking."
A thorough understanding of the characteristics of our nearest
celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in
the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury and the moons of
outer planets.
NASA also included the public in the final chapter of the LADEE story.
A "Take the Plunge" contest provided an opportunity for the public to
guess the date and time of the spacecraft's impact via the internet.
Thousands submitted predictions. NASA will provide winners a digital
congratulatory certificate.
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington funds the LADEE
mission. Ames was responsible for spacecraft design, development,
testing and mission operations, in addition to managing the overall
mission. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., managed
the science instruments, technology demonstration payload and science
operations center, and provided mission support. Goddard also manages
the LRO mission. Wallops was responsible for launch vehicle
integration, launch services and operations. NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., managed LADEE within the Lunar
Quest Program Office.
For more information about the LADEE mission, visit:
For more information about LLCD, visit:
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO
SOURCE NASA
-0- 04/18/2014
/CONTACT: Dwayne Brown, Headquarters, Washington, 202-358-1726, dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov; or Rachel Hoover, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., 650-930-6149, rachel.hoover@nasa.gov; or Dewayne Washington, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., 301-286-0040, dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com
/Web Site: http://www.nasa.gov
CO: NASA
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