[meteorite-list] LADEE Spacecraft Begins Collecting Lunar Atmosphere Data

[Ron Baalke]

November 21, 2013

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

Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover at nasa.gov 
     
RELEASE 13-349
     
NASA Spacecraft Begins Collecting Lunar Atmosphere Data

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is ready to  
begin collecting science data about the moon.

On Nov. 20, the spacecraft successfully entered its planned orbit around the  
moon's equator -- a unique position allowing the small probe to make frequent  
passes from lunar day to lunar night. This will provide a full scope of the  
changes and processes occurring within the moon's tenuous atmosphere.

LADEE now orbits the moon about every two hours at an altitude of eight to 37  
miles (12-60 kilometers) above the moon's surface. For about 100 days, the  
spacecraft will gather detailed information about the structure and  
composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determine whether dust is being  
lofted into the lunar sky.

"A thorough understanding of the characteristics of our lunar neighbor will  
help researchers understand other small bodies in the solar system, such as  
asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets," said Sarah Noble, LADEE  
program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Scientists also will be able to study the conditions in the atmosphere during  
lunar sunrise and sunset, where previous crewed and robotic missions detected  
a mysterious glow of rays and streamers reaching high into the lunar sky.

On Nov. 20, flight controllers in the LADEE Mission Operations Center at  
NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., confirmed LADEE  
performed a crucial burn of its orbit control system to lower the spacecraft  
into its optimal position to enable science collection. Mission managers will  
continuously monitor the spacecraft's altitude and make adjustments as  
necessary.

"Due to the lumpiness of the moon's gravitational field, LADEE's orbit  
requires significant maintenance activity with maneuvers taking place as  
often as every three to five days, or as infrequently as once every two  
weeks," said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at Ames. "LADEE will perform  
regular orbital maintenance maneuvers to keep the spacecraft’s altitude  
within a safe range above the surface that maximizes the science return."

In addition to science instruments, the spacecraft carried the Lunar Laser  
Communications Demonstration, NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication  
system. It is designed to enable satellite communication at rates similar to  
those of high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth. The system was tested  
successfully during the commissioning phase of the mission, while LADEE was  
still at a higher altitude.

LADEE was launched Sept. 6 on a U.S. Air Force Minotaur V, an excess  
ballistic missile converted into a space launch vehicle and operated by  
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. LADEE is the first spacecraft designed,  
developed, built, integrated and tested at Ames. It also was the first probe  
launched beyond Earth orbit from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the  
Virginia coast.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington funds the LADEE mission.  
Ames manages the overall mission and serves as a base for mission operations  
and real-time control of the probe. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in  
Greenbelt, Md., manages the science instruments and technology demonstration  
payload, the science operations center and overall mission support. NASA's  
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages LADEE within the  
Lunar Quest Program Office.

For more information about the LADEE mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ladee 

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