[meteorite-list] NASA Lunar Mission Successfully Enters Moon Orbit (LRO)

[Ron Baalke]

June 23 2009

Grey Hautaluoma/Ashley Edwards 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-0668/1756 
grey.hautaluoma-1 at nasa.gov 
ashley.edwards-1 at nasa.gov 

Nancy Neal Jones 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Md. 
301-286-0039 
nancy.n.jones at nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 09-144

NASA LUNAR MISSION SUCCESSFULLY ENTERS MOON ORBIT

GREENBELT, Md. -- After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, 
the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered 
orbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight 
Center in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit 
insertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday. 

During transit to the moon, engineers performed a mid-course 
correction to get the spacecraft in the proper position to reach its 
lunar destination. Since the moon is always moving, the spacecraft 
shot for a target point ahead of the moon. When close to the moon, 
LRO used its rocket motor to slow down until the gravity of the moon 
caught the spacecraft in lunar orbit. 

"Lunar orbit insertion is a crucial milestone for the mission," said 
Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at Goddard. "The LRO mission 
cannot begin until the moon captures us. Once we enter the moon's 
orbit, we can begin to buildup the dataset needed to understand in 
greater detail the lunar topography, features and resources. We are 
so proud to be a part of this exciting mission and NASA's planned 
return to the moon." 

A series of four engine burns over the next four days will put the 
satellite into its commissioning phase orbit. During the 
commissioning phase each of its seven instruments is checked out and 
brought online. The commissioning phase will end approximately 60 
days after launch, when LRO will use its engines to transition to its 
primary mission orbit. 

For its primary mission, LRO will orbit above the moon at about 31 
miles, or 50 kilometers, for one year. The spacecraft's instruments 
will help scientists compile high resolution, three-dimensional maps 
of the lunar surface and also survey it at many spectral wavelengths. 

The satellite will explore the moon's deepest craters, examining 
permanently sunlit and shadowed regions, and provide understanding of 
the effects of lunar radiation on humans. LRO will return more data 
about the moon than any previous mission. 

For more information about the LRO mission, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/lro 

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