NASA Lunar Missions Set to Get Underway

There are two NASA lunar probes awaiting launch aboard the Atlas-V from Cape Canveral Air Force Station this week (depending on STS-127) as the United States continues to advance plans for a human return to the moon and also as a part of the international effort that has included Europe, Japan, China and India at this point. The Germans and British are also expected to mount lunar launch campaigns in the near-term and perhaps after the Google Lunar X-Prize mounts the first effort.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission objectives include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters with two heavy impactors in 2009 to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. One may follow the progress LCROSS is on Twitter. Linked is a three part video on LCROSS.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), mission objectives include finding safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, day-night temperature maps, a global geodetic grid, high resolution color imaging, the moon's UV albedo and demonstrate new technology while in a low lunar orbit for one year. Particular emphasis will be placed on the polar regions of the moon where continuous access to solar illumination may be possible and the prospect of water in the permanently shadowed regions at the poles may exist. One may follow the progress of LRO also on Twitter. Linked are a video of the ground track for LRO and another video about LRO.