Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., NASA mission to study the moon from crust to core has completed its
prime mission earlier than expected. The team of NASA's Gravity Recovery
and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, with twin probes named Ebb and
Flow, is now preparing for extended science operations starting Aug. 30
and continuing through Dec. 3, 2012.
An artist's depiction of the twin
spacecraft that comprise NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory
(GRAIL) mission. During the GRAIL mission's science phase, spacecraft
(Ebb and Flow) transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance
between them as they orbit the moon in formation. Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
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› Full SizeNASA's GRAIL Spacecraft In Science Collection Phase
An artist's depiction of the twin spacecraft that comprise NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. During the GRAIL mission's science phase, spacecraft (Ebb and Flow) transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance between them as they orbit the moon in formation. As the two fly over areas of greater and lesser gravity caused by both visible features, such as mountains and craters, and masses hidden beneath the lunar surface, the distance between the two spacecraft will change slightly. Mission scientists use this information to create a high-resolution map of the moon's gravitational field. The data will allow scientists to understand what goes on below the lunar surface. This information will increase knowledge of how Earth and its rocky neighbors in the inner solar system developed into the diverse worlds we see today.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, is home to the mission's principal investigator, Maria Zuber. GRAIL is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
For more information about GRAIL, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/grail
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT
PASADENA, Calif. -- A NASA mission to study the moon from crust to core
has completed its prime mission earlier than expected. The team of
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, with
twin probes named Ebb and Flow, is now preparing for extended science
operations starting Aug. 30 and continuing through Dec. 3, 2012.
The GRAIL mission has gathered unprecedented detail about the
internal structure and evolution of the moon. This information will
increase our knowledge of how Earth and its rocky neighbors in the inner
solar system developed into the diverse worlds we see today.
Since March 8, the spacecraft have operated around the clock for 89
days. From an orbit that passes over the lunar poles, they have
collected data covering the entire surface three times. An instrument
called the Lunar Gravity Ranging System onboard each spacecraft
transmits radio signals that allow scientists to translate the data into
a high-resolution map of the moon's gravitational field. The spacecraft
returned their last data set of the prime mission today. The
instruments were turned off at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) when the
spacecraft were 37 miles (60 kilometers) above the Sea of Nectar.
"Many of the measurement objectives were achieved from analysis of
only half the primary mission data, which speaks volumes about the skill
and dedication of our science and engineering teams," said Maria Zuber,
principal investigator of GRAIL at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge. "While there is a great deal of work yet to be
done to achieve the mission's science, it's energizing to realize that
what we traveled from Earth to the moon for is right here in our hands."
"GRAIL delivered to Earth over 99.99 percent of the data that could
have been collected, which underscores the flawless performance of the
spacecraft, instrument and the Deep Space Network," said Zuber.
Both spacecraft instruments will be powered off until Aug. 30. The
spacecraft will have to endure a lunar eclipse on June 4. The eclipse
and the associated sudden changes in temperature and the energy-sapping
darkness that accompanies the phenomena were expected and do not concern
engineers about the spacecraft's health.
"Before launch, we planned for all of GRAIL's primary mission science
to occur between lunar eclipses," said David Lehman, project manager of
GRAIL from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "But
now that we have flown Ebb and Flow for a while, we understand them and
are confident they can survive these eclipses in good shape."
The extended mission goal is to take an even closer look at the
moon's gravity field. To achieve this, GRAIL mission planners will halve
their current operating altitude to the lowest altitude that can be
safely maintained.
"Orbiting at an average altitude of 14 miles (23 kilometers) during
the extended mission, the GRAIL twins will be clearing some of the
moon's higher surface features by about 5 miles (8 kilometers)," said
Joe Beerer of JPL, GRAIL's mission manager. "If Ebb and Flow had feet, I
think by reflex they'd want to pull them up every time they fly over a
mountain."
Along with mission science, GRAIL's MoonKAM (Moon Knowledge Acquired
by Middle school students) education and public outreach program is also
extended. To date over 70,000 student images of the moon have been
obtained. The MoonKAM program is led by Sally Ride, America's first
woman in space, and her team at Sally Ride Science in collaboration with
undergraduate students at the University of California in San Diego.
The GRAIL mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. The mission is part of the Discovery Program
managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
NASA's Deep Space Network is an international network of antennas that
supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar
astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the
universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. JPL is a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
For more information about GRAIL, visit:
NASA.
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achuteguiayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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