Lunar
CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)
The Mission Objectives of the Lunar
Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) 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 early in 2009
to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact
will eject material from the crater’s surface to create
a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for
the presence of water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated
materials.
LCROSS will also provide technologies and modular, reconfigurable
subsystems that can be used to support future mission architectures.
Ames
Research Center (ARC) will oversee the development of the
LCROSS mission with its spacecraft and integration partner Northrop-Grumman.
This is a fast-paced, low-cost, mission that will leverage some
existing NASA systems, Northrop-Grumman spacecraft expertise,
and Ames’ Lunar Prospector
experience. Ames will be managing the mission, performing mission
operations, and is developing the payload instruments, while Northrop
Grumman will be designing and building the spacecraft for this
innovative mission.
Scheduled for launch in 2008, LCROSS will travel to the Moon
as a co-manifested payload aboard the launch vehicle for the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). LRO is designed to map the lunar
surface and characterize landing sites for future missions.
Just like on Earth, water is a crucial resource on the Moon. It
will not be practical to transport to space the amount of water
needed for human and exploration needs. It is critical to find
natural resources, such as water, on the Moon. The Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission will begin
the search for water, leveraging the information we learned from
the Clementine and Lunar
Prospector missions.
By going to the Moon for extended periods of time before other bodies in our solar system, astronauts
will search for resources and learn how to work safely in a harsh
environment—stepping stones to future exploration. The Moon
also offers many clues about the time when the planets were formed.
“Many years ago the great British
explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest,
was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, ’Because
it was there.’
Well, space is there,
and we’re going to climb it, and the Moon and the
planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace
are there.”
President John F. Kennedy
Address at the Rice University on the Space Effort
September 12, 1962
“Mankind is drawn to the heavens
for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands
and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because
doing so improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit.”