UK's MoonLITE gets green light...

[MeteorWayne]

<p>http://astronomynow.com/081208UKMoonmissiongetsgreenlight.html</p><p>The UK-led MoonLITE mission that will see penetrator darts embedded into the lunar surface has been given the go ahead by the government to enter into an in-depth &lsquo;Phase-A&rsquo; study.</p><p>The MoonLITE (Moon Lightweight Interior and Telecom Experiment) mission aims to place a satellite in orbit around the Moon and deploy four penetrators that will deliver scientific instruments to below the lunar surface. Each penetrator will contain a drill, sensors, accelerometers, a seismometer and mass spectrometer and offers the potential to establish the first network of geophysical instruments to probe the interior structure of the Moon in greater detail than ever before achieved.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[rybanis]

Interesting! So the probes are to survive impact. Looking forward to see what comes from this mission. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

Excellent news! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

The article mentions demonstrating electronics surviving impacts of 1000k/h into sand, but lunar escape velocity is&nbsp;over 8000k/h. (not sure what orbital is). Anyone know how they are dealing with the difference in velocities?

 

[JonClarke]

<p>The video clip on this page shows a rocket engine de-orbiting the penetrator, and presumably slowing it from 1.6 km/s down to below 1 km/s</p><p>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7746057.stm (you may need to repload to get past the ad at the start).</p><p>Jon</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

If you can't get the video on the BBC site to work, you can see it athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc1Dxu_fMgI <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>