[meteorite-list] NASA Moon Mission In Final Preparations For September Launch (GRAIL)

[Ron Baalke]

Aug. 25, 2011

Dwayne Brown 
Headquarters, Washington      
202-358-1726 
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

DC Agle 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 
818-393-9011 
agle at jpl.nasa.gov 

Caroline McCall 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 
617-253-1682 
cmcall5 at mit.edu   


RELEASE: 11-275

NASA MOON MISSION IN FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER LAUNCH

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior 
Laboratory (GRAIL), mission to study the moon is in final launch 
preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket 
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 

GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore 
Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine 
the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance 
our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. 

"Yesterday's final encapsulation of the spacecraft is an important 
mission milestone," said David Lehman, GRAIL project manager for 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our two 
spacecraft are now sitting comfortably inside the payload fairing 
which will protect them during ascent. Next time the GRAIL twins will 
see the light of day they will be about 95 miles up and 
accelerating." 

The spacecraft twins, GRAIL A and B, will fly a circuitous route to 
lunar orbit taking 3.5 months and covering approximately 2.6 million 
miles (4.2 million kilometers) for GRAIL-A, and 2.7 million miles 
(4.3 million kilometers) for GRAIL-B. 

In lunar orbit, the spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely 
defining the distance between them. Regional gravitational 
differences on the moon are expected to expand and contract that 
distance. GRAIL scientists will use these accurate measurements to 
define the moon's gravity field. The data will allow mission 
scientists to understand what goes on below the surface of our 
natural satellite. 

"GRAIL will unlock lunar mysteries and help us understand how the 
moon, Earth and other rocky planets evolved as well," said Maria 
Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology in Cambridge. 

GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8 and extends through Oct. 19. On 
each day, there are two separate launch opportunities separated by 
approximately 39 minutes. On Sept. 8, the first launch opportunity is 
8:37 a.m. EDT; the second is 9:16 a.m. 

JPL manages the GRAIL mission. It is part of the Discovery Program 
managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. 
Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch 
management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch 
Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

For extensive pre-launch and launch day coverage of the GRAIL 
spacecraft, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov   

A prelaunch webcast for the mission will be streamed at noon on 
Wednesday, Sept. 7. Live countdown coverage through NASA's Launch 
Blog begins at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Coverage features live updates 
as countdown milestones occur and streaming video clips highlighting 
launch preparations and liftoff. 

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the GRAIL 
mission, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/grail   

and 

http://grail.nasa.gov   

To view live interviews with lunar scientists from noon to 5 p.m. on 
Sept. 8 and 9, visit: 

http://www.livestream.com/grail   
	
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