LCROSS Lunar South Polar Cabeus Crater impact Mission

[MeteorWayne]

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.

Lunar Limb
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:46:13 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft is now being steered to look at the lunar limb or horizon. This is a technique used for alignment.


Third Crater
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:38:35 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft is now maneuvering to its third (and final) target, Giordano Bruno located at 35.9 degrees North latitude and 102.8 degrees East longitude. Giordano Bruno is a relatively young crater (350 million years old) at the center of a system of bright rays

Second Crater
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:30:49 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft is now maneuvering to the second target which is the Goddard C crater complex located at 15.6 degrees North latitude and 84.3 degrees East longitude. The spacecraft is targeting a worn iron-rich crater with mare basalt flows mixed with rugged highlands-type material.


First Crater
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:24:46 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft is currently 5,022 miles (8,082 km) from the moon. The spacecraft payload is collecting data of the Mendeleev region of the moon (located at 5.7 degrees North latitude, 140.9 degrees East longitude). Mendeleev is a large, ancient impact basin with relatively uniform floor deposits. Mendeleev is located on the far-side of the Moon (not visible from Earth), and the uniformity of the region provides a good calibration target for the down-looking LCROSS instruments.


Powered Up
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:22:00 AM EDT


The science instruments onboard the LCROSS spacecraft are now being powered in preparation for lunar swingby. The science instruments within the LCROSS payload that will be used for swingby include a visible camera, 2 near-infrared cameras, 2 mid-infrared cameras, visible spectrometer, and 2 near-infrared spectrometers. One of the near-infrared spectrometers will be looking within 10 degrees of the sun during this activity. All other instruments are positioned to look downward towards the lunar surface.


Medium Gain Antenna
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:57:04 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft is now conducting a yaw/roll to orient the spacecraft antennas towards the Earth. This lunar swingby is the first test of the Medium Gain Antenna (MGA) during the mission. The MGA is used to support the highest download rate for science data.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Swingby Complete
Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:09:54 AM EDT


The LCROSS spacecraft has successfully completed its swingby of the Moon and is being steered back into normal cruise mode. This swingby has provided a gravity assist into the LCROSS cruise orbit. During this cruise phase, the operations team will evaluate the spacecraft's health and status. The LCROSS spacecraft won't be "up close and personal" with the moon again until the day of impact on October 9, 2009!

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

LCROSS views of the Moon.

Looks like the encounter was successful.

Mostly far side with the Medeleev basing

Medellev in infrared.

Goddard C complex.

Is there site that has the images displyed at full resolution?

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Found a decent one here.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Mendeleev Basin ismuch clearer & the Tsiolkovsky Crater can be seen near the limb @ the half past one position.

My own enlargement here.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

LCROSS update today.

New LCROSS Mosaic from lunar swingby. 8 KM resolution. Tuesday 23rd June 2009.

Quite a decent image actually of the largely permanently hidden Lunar Farside, will be quite impressive during the approach in October after the Centaur Upper Stage is jettisoned & slams into the Moon. Limb mosaic targets are shown.

Mid Infrared Image of Lunar Farside from LCROSS.

Overlay of Mid Infrared & visible image from LCROSS on Tuesday 23rd June 2009.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.

Andrew-

Do you know are they planning on photographing the impact site of the last impact probe that was crashed into the Moon?

Hi Brandon,

I will return later with a proper answer, but I can say that Lunar Prospector & the Japanese Kaguya - Selene were crashed in permanently shadowed areas near the lunar South Pole in the faint hope that any resulting plume will kick up any lunar ice, which IMHO does not exist.

An update from LCROSS.

Earth from: 360,000 KM by LCROSS on: Saturday 1st August 2009.

Andrew Brown.

 

[brandbll]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Andrew-

Do you know are they planning on photographing the impact site of the last impact probe that was crashed into the Moon?

Hi Brandon,

I will return later with a proper answer, but I can say that Lunar Prospector & the Japanese Kaguya - Selene were crashed in permanently shadowed areas near the lunar South Pole in the faint hope that any resulting plume will kick up any lunar ice, which IMHO does not exist.

An update from LCROSS.

Earth from: 360,000 KM by LCROSS on: Saturday 1st August 2009.

Andrew Brown.

Andrew-

Thanks for the info! What about SMART-1? I looked on thsoe lunar maps you posted and i didn't see it on there...

Brandon

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Baking out water from the spacecraft from spaceflight now...

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/lcross/090810bakeout/

"Nearly halfway through its crash course with the moon, NASA's lunar impact mission is being scrubbed of Earth water that could throw the probe off course and pollute potential ice on the moon"

....

"Foam applied to the outer shell of the rocket helps insulate the cold fuels from warm outside temperatures. But it can also attract and condense water from rain and humidity, common conditions at the Atlas 5 rocket's oceanfront launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"The foam absorbs quite a bit of water white it's sitting there, even for the short amount of time that it's in the elements in Florida on the launch pad," Colaprete said.

Valves on the Centaur also build ice during fueling."

......

"Because the LCROSS shepherding spacecraft has a fixed solar panel, the stack must stay in the same orientation during most of the mission to generate electricity. That means the other side of the Centaur remains very cold.

"It's so cold that the ice just sits there and doesn't sublime very well, and certainly doesn't migrate out of the foam," Colaprete said.

To remedy the situation, engineers sent commands for LCROSS to rotate the spacecraft 180 degrees.

"We rotate the entire spacecraft around, go off of solar panel power and run on battery power, and just let that back side of the Centaur warm up," Colaprete said.

Like ice on the Centaur side normally warmed by the sun, frozen water embedded in the cold part of the rocket will slowly turn to gas and float into space.

"Once it gets exposed to that sunlight, it will warm up and those water constituents will start to bake out of the surface of the Centaur," Tompkins said."

.....

" Scientists still have not picked a target for the impact, but it will probably be one of eight permanently shadowed craters near the moon's south pole, according to Colaprete.

Those eight craters were selected before launch based on the best available data from international lunar orbiters and ground-based radar.

Officials are busily studying early results from LRO's mission to narrow down the list of finalists. A science meeting at Ames next week will include extensive discussion of potential impact sites.

"Out of that meeting, I'll come away with hopefully a much more narrow list, from eight or so, which it is now, to maybe one or two," Colaprete said.

Colaprete will make the final decision in early September, in time for LCROSS to fire its engines and tweak its trajectory to line up with its destination.

NASA tentatively plans to announce the target crater around Sept. 10."

 

[CalliArcale]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Sweet. Get the steam out while it won't cause any targeting problems because LCROSS can still fine-tune the trajectory (and will in any case since they haven't picked the exact target yet).

Andrew, your latest pictures are bringing tears to my eyes, they're so detailed. I may pass out when the first images are returned from LRO's final mapping orbit.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Thanks Wayne,

That's quite something. I would have thought that any volatiles would have sublimated by now since launch, but then again, what is the temperature of the shadowed side of the Centaur??? Below minus 200 Celsius I expect.

I think it is a moot point anyway as IMHO water ice does not exist in the polar craters on the Moon, but then also to prove that, the LCROSS Centaur needs to be as free of H2O as possible at impact.

Presumably, the composition of the Centaur is taken into account to subtract that from the total composition of the plume to deduce Lunar minerology & any ice if it exists. Common sense would say so anyway.
:roll:

Thanks Calli for your kind comments.

The LROC site has not been updated for a few days now, so there has been nothing new to post. I will probably go back through some of the older images to see if there is anything else worth bringing here, that I've missed.

Andrew Brown.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

It's almost time to start a countdown to impact...it's about 2 months now.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

It's almost time to start a countdown to impact...it's about 2 months now.

Hi Wayne,

There is this with a possible shortlist of potential impact sites for LCROSS.

I will oblige & start a countdown clock.

Impact of LCROSS on: Friday 9th October 2009.

59 Days.
13 Hours.
5 Minutes.
15 Seconds.

Andrew Brown.

 

[3488]

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.

LCROSS spies crescents Earth & Moon on: Monday 17th August 2009.

LCROSS Visible Context Camera view.

LCROSS crop of Near Infrared Camera 2 view.

LCROSS crop of Near Infrared Camera 1 view. The warmth of the Earth's tropics is clearly visible.

Impact of LCROSS on: Friday 9th October 2009.

48 Days.
16 Hours.
11 Minutes.
30 Seconds.

Andrew Brown

 

[3488]

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.

Hi kelvinzero,

IIRC the plume is not expected to be huge, so we are really looking at the upper end Amateur Astronomy equipment, though it would not hurt for anyone who has a view of the moon high up to try & observe / photograph with their telescope.

The impact site though not yet determined will be close to the lunar south pole. I hope that LCROSS will still proceed as planned regarding the fuel loss during the recovery from the malfunction.

Impact is scheduled @ 12:20 HRS CET (BST) / 11:30 HRS GMT / 07:30 HRS EDT / 04:30 HRS PDT on: Friday 9th October 2009.

Hi all,

Some interesting official NASA LRO LROC videos on YouTube.

Overflight of Apollo 14 site.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKdRMNIE8Lw[/youtube]

Hummocks, boulders & craters far side Tsiolkovskiy Crater ejecta blanket @ 80 CM resolution. LRO was only 83 KM abover the lunar surface during this imaging swathe. LRO was only 83 KM abover the lunar surface during this imaging swathe.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBe584yYMDs[/youtube]

Lunar Farside Compton Crater overflight.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOTUoxTDf2o[/youtube]

Very close to lunar north pole. Rozhdestvenskiy W Crater.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbzN1t2N7r0[/youtube]

Deslandres Impact region, close to Mare Nubium. First ever LRO LROC swathe.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCPAqbFa7Es[/youtube]

Impact of LCROSS (hopefully) on: Friday 9th October 2009.

39 Days.
20 Hours.
50 Minutes.
30 Seconds.

Andrew Brown.

 

[jakethesnake]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

I am going to try to video the impact, does anyone have suggestions as to what magnification I should use and where I can get up to date tracking information? :?:

 

[jakethesnake]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

I should add that I will be using a Meade 8" f6.3 scope with a cmos 1200x 1080 camera recording at 30 fps.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

I am going to try to video the impact, does anyone have suggestions as to what magnification I should use and where I can get up to date tracking information? :?:

Where are you jake? Unless you are along the western US coast or Hawaii, it will be daylight.

Edit: That statement assumes the anomoly described above has not changed the impact time. We're about a month out, so hopefully some more detailed predictions will come out soon.

 

[jakethesnake]

LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission.

That's a bummer Wayne, I live in the Chicago land area, but would setup somewhere in western Wisconsin just south of La Crosse.

But I guess that looks doubtful if it will still be light out.

 

[jakethesnake]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Wayne,

It looks like I would just make it as far as when the sun sets, but the Moon won't rise until 9:54pm my time, so its definitely a NoGo for me.

Eastern Time. Projected LCROSS Impact at the lunar South Pole: Oct 9, 11:30 UT (7:30 EDT, 4:30 PDT) or 6:30pm CDT my time and 10 minute after sunset.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 9th, 2009,

Sunrise: 6:58am
Sunset: 6:20pm
Moonrise: 9:54pm
Moonset: 1:05pm

 

[MeteorWayne]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Sorry jake, you are looking at it bass ackwards. That's 11:30 UT which is what, 0630 CDT? (0730 EDT)
It's the sunrise that causes the problem. Are in in CDT or EDT?

It's the morning, son!!

edit, BTW I have sunrise at 6:58 AM for Milwaukee on that day, so while the sun won't be up, the sky will be quite bright.

 

[3488]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

That's a bummer Wayne, I live in the Chicago land area, but would setup somewhere in western Wisconsin just south of La Crosse.

But I guess that looks doubtful if it will still be light out.

Hi jakethesnake,

Impact is scheduled @ 12:20 HRS CET (BST) / 11:30 HRS GMT / 07:30 HRS EDT / 06:30 HRS CDT / 4:30 HRS PDT on: Friday 9th October 2009.

My guess is that you are in Central Time, Chigago area.

If so in Chicago, the sunrise will be at 06:56 HRS CDT, Civil Twilight would have commenced @ 06:28 HRS CDT, so the sun will be approx 6 degress below the horizon when LCROSS hopefully slams into the Moon.

As Wayne says, the anamoly caused by the malfunction & the extra fuel used to correct it, may change the timing, but AFAIK, the timing is still as planned.

Andrew Brown.

 

[jakethesnake]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Thanks for the correction Wayne, and at this point I think it’s worth a shot to try to record this event.

I wonder if there is a possibility of any out gassing such as what happened to comet Tempel 1?

 

[shuttle_guy]

LRO/LCROSS Mission Target selected

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-171

NASA SELECTS TARGET CRATER FOR LUNAR IMPACT OF LCROSS SPACECRAFT

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA has identified the spot where it will
search for water on the moon. Reporters are invited to attend the
announcement of the target location where the Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and its spent Centaur
rocket will hit in October. The briefing will take place at 10 a.m.
PDT, Friday, Sept. 11, in the main auditorium, Building N201, of
NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The event will
be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's Web site.

The selected crater is an optimal target for evaluating if water ice
exists at the lunar south pole. Briefing participants are Daniel
Andrews, LCROSS project manager, Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal
investigator, and Jennifer Heldmann, lead for the LCROSS observation
campaign.

Andrews will provide an update about the health of the spacecraft and
mission activities. Colaprete will announce the target crater and
explain the criteria and selection process. Heldmann will discuss the
LCROSS observation campaign in which an international cadre of
professional and amateur astronomers will view the impacts at 4:30
a.m. on Oct. 9.

To reach Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the Moffett Field/NASA Parkway
exit and drive east on Moffett Field Boulevard toward the main gate.
News media will be escorted from the visitor badge office parking lot
to the main auditorium at 9:45 a.m. Journalists seeking telephone
access should contact Jonas Dino at 650-604-5612 or
jonas.dino@nasa.gov.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information,
visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


For more information about the LCROSS mission, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/lcross

 

[jakethesnake]

Re: LRO/LCROSS Mission

Very cool, this should nail down the time of impact.