[meteorite-list] NASA Moon-Impacter Mission Passes Major Review (LCROSS)

[Ron Baalke]

Feb. 2, 2007

Beth Dickey/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-2087/5241

John Bluck
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-5026/9000 

RELEASE: 07-21

NASA MOON-IMPACTOR MISSION PASSES MAJOR REVIEW

WASHINGTON - NASA's drive to return astronauts to the moon and later 
probe deeper into space achieved a key milestone recently when agency 
officials approved critical elements of a moon impact mission 
scheduled to launch in October 2008. NASA's unmanned Lunar Crater 
Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, will strike the 
moon near its south pole in January 2009. It will search for water 
and other materials that astronauts could use at a future lunar 
outpost. 

Scott Horowitz, associate administrator of the agency's Exploration 
Systems Mission Directorate, led a confirmation review panel that 
recently approved the detailed plans, instrument suite, budget and 
risk factor analysis for the satellite. 

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., manages the 
mission. The mission is valued at $79 million, excluding launch 
costs. The mission will help NASA gain a new foothold on the moon and 
prepare for new journeys to Mars and beyond. 

The confirmation review authorized continuation of the lunar impactor 
project and set its cost and schedule. Another mission milestone, the 
critical design review, is scheduled for late February. That review 
will examine the detailed Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing 
Satellite system design. After a successful critical design review, 
the project team will assemble the spacecraft and its instruments. 

"The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite project represents 
an efficient way of doing business by being cost capped, schedule 
constrained and risk tolerant," said Daniel Andrews, project manager 
at Ames for the lunar impactor mission. 

The lunar impactor will share a rocket ride into space with a second 
satellite, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. After the orbiter 
separates from the Atlas V launch vehicle for its own mission, the 
LCROSS will use the spent Centaur upper stage of the rocket as a 
4,400-pound lunar impactor, targeting a permanently shadowed crater 
near the lunar South Pole. 

According to scientists, the Centaur's collision with the moon will 
excavate about 220 tons of material from the lunar surface. The Lunar 
Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will observe the plume of 
material with a suite of six instruments to look for water ice and 
examine lunar soil. The satellite will fly through the plume, also 
impacting the lunar surface. That second impact will be observed from 
Earth. 

The prime contractor for the satellite is Northrop Grumman Space 
Technologies of Redondo Beach, Calif. 

For information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing 
Satellite on the Web, visit: 

http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov 

For information about NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate 
on the Web, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration 

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov

	
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