[meteorite-list] NASA Selects Teams for Moon Impact Observation Campaign

[Ron Baalke]

Feb. 02, 2009

Grey Hautaluoma 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-0668 
grey.hautaluoma-1 at nasa.gov 

Jonas Dino                               
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.      
650-604-6512                          
jonas.dino at nasa.gov 

Frank Curran 
Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, Ala. 
256-971-0243 
fcurran at usra.edu 

RELEASE: 09-013

NASA SELECTS TEAMS FOR MOON IMPACT OBSERVATION CAMPAIGN

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA has selected four teams to observe the 
impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known 
as LCROSS, with the lunar surface during the mission's search for 
water ice on the moon. 

The LCROSS mission is a small companion mission to the Lunar 
Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, 
Fla., in spring 2009. Instruments aboard the satellite are designed 
to search for evidence of water ice on the moon as the spacecraft 
collides with a permanently shadowed crater near one of the moon's 
poles. The resulting debris plumes are expected to be visible from 
Earth with telescopes 10-to-12 inches in diameter or larger. 

These chosen observation teams will provide additional data and 
analysis about permanently shadowed craters to help researchers 
determine if water exists on the moon and in what form. The LCROSS 
mission and the Universities Space Research Association, or USRA, of 
Columbia, Md., established specific selection criteria. USRA 
administered the rigorous selection process. 

"The LCROSS team is extremely pleased with the quality of proposals 
received," said Jennifer Heldmann, lead for the LCROSS Observation 
Campaign at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The 
contributions from the selected observation proposals will contribute 
substantially to the LCROSS mission." 

The selected proposals are: 

-- Accessing LCROSS Ejecta: Water Vapor and Particle Size and 
Composition from Keck, Gemini, and the IRFT Telescopes; principle 
investigator Eliot Young, Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, 
Colo. 

-- LCROSS Lunar Plume Observations with the Apache Point Observatory; 
principle investigator Nancy Chanover, New Mexico State University in 
Las Cruces. 

-- Multi-spectral Imaging of the LCROSS Impact; principle investigator 
Marc Buie, Southwest Research Institute. 

-- Searching for Polar Water Ice During the LCROSS Impact Using the 
MMT Observatory; principle investigator Faith Vilas, University of 
Arizona in Tucson. 

"We are proud to be a part of the process that will enable these very 
important observations and look forward to working with the principal 
investigators and our NASA counterparts to ensure success in the 
observation campaign," said Frank Curran, director of USRA's 
Operations in Huntsville, Ala. Curran was USRA's coordinator for the 
selection process. 

On the night of the impacts, the LCROSS science team will be in 
constant contact with professional astronomers to provide live 
targeting information. This information is crucial to ensuring the 
astronomers point their large telescopes correctly to capture the 
exact moment of the impacts and the resulting debris plumes. 

NASA's Ames Research Center developed the LCROSS science payload. Ames 
also is managing the project and conducting mission and science 
operations. NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program at NASA's Marshall 
Space Flight Center in Huntsville managed the cooperative agreement 
with USRA. 

The Universities Space Research Association, established in 1969 by 
the National Academy of Sciences, is a private, nonprofit consortium 
of 102 universities offering advanced degrees in space- and 
aeronautics-related disciplines. 

For more information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing 
Satellite mission, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/lcross 

For more information about the LCROSS Observation Campaign, visit: 

http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/observation.htm 

For more information about the Universities Space Research 
Association, visit: 

http://www.usra.edu 
	
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