posted 09-01-2011 04:33 PM               

This thread is intended for comments and questions regarding the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) and the updates published under the topic: GRAIL (Ebb and Flow) to the Moon.

GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field in unprecedented detail. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

Scientists will use the gravity field information from the two satellites to X-ray the moon from crust to core to reveal the moon's subsurface structures and, indirectly, its thermal history.

posted 09-01-2011 04:40 PM               

Guests Invited to Experience the Thrill of a Delta II Heavy Rocket Launch

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex invites guests to share in the excitement of NASA's next rocket launch with the Sept. 8 scheduled lift-off of a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket carrying the twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft on their mission to the moon.

The twin spacecraft will orbit the moon to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

The launch, the last Delta II launch currently scheduled from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, is scheduled for 8:37 a.m. with a second window planned for 9:17 a.m. if needed.

Special viewing of the launch is available to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests from the NASA Causeway, located within Kennedy Space Center, for just $20 plus the cost of admission (required).

The GRAIL launch viewing opportunity is limited to the first 2,000 guests to purchase admission and launch tickets by phone at 866-383-2946 or in person at the Visitor Complex ticket plaza. Advance purchase is strongly suggested.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will open at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Bus boarding for the NASA Causeway begins at 5:30 a.m. with last departure at 7:30 a.m.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will celebrate the GRAIL launch with four days of special launch-related activities. Please note, rocket launch and programming schedules are subject to change without notice. For times and locations of all activities, visit the complex's website.

From Wednesday, Sept. 7 through Saturday, Sept. 10, guests may:

• View the "It's a New Moon" exhibit: touch a moon rock, sit in a student-built moon buggy from NASA's Great Moon Buggy Race and virtually guide the Exploration Uplink rover based at NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies area near Flagstaff, Arizona.
  
• Watch the IMAX 3D moon film Magnificent Desolation, produced by Tom Hanks.

Wednesday, September 7

• Hear first-hand from lunar scientists involved with the GRAIL mission.
  
• Take part in the Scientists in Action live webcast and ask questions of GRAIL scientists.

Thursday, September 8

• Experience the launch of the Delta II rocket, either from NASA Causeway (with purchase of additional $20 ticket) or from the Visitor Complex.
  
• Hear from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke as he shares his experiences on the moon's surface and conducts a book signing.
  
• Attend Lunch With an Astronaut with Charlie Duke (with purchase of additional ticket, $29.99 for adults, $20.99 for children ages 3-11; advance reservations required.
  
• Meet Star Trek's Lieutenant Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, who will be signing autographs and taking photos with visitors to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first airing of the Star Trek series at the Star Trek bridge.
  
• Hear about the latest "other-world" discoveries from a panel of space experts including: astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director at the Hayden Planetarium; and Steven W. Lee, Department Chair and Curator of Planetary Science at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
  
• Take part in the Scientists in Action live webcast and ask questions of GRAIL scientists.
  
• Receive free mini MoonPie for children 11 years and under while supplies last.

Friday, September 9

• Attend an "Eyes on the Solar System" demonstration, NASA's new 3D interactive experience to explore the cosmos and travel with robotic space probes.

Saturday, September 10

• Hear first-hand from the head of the GRAIL mission, Dr. Maria Zuber.
  
• Attend an "Eyes on the Solar System" demonstration, NASA's new 3D interactive experience to explore the cosmos and travel with robotic space probes.

posted 09-10-2011 12:37 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Fezman92:
Why will it take so long for GRAIL to get to the moon?

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The GRAIL spacecraft will not go directly to the moon, but instead are taking a circuitous route that calls for them to loop out deep into space on a journey that will cover about 2.6 million miles and take three-and-a-half months. By taking the longer path, the spacecraft don't have to use much fuel to slow down and go into lunar orbit. Apollo capsules carrying astronauts took three days to reach the moon, but they had to fire their braking rocket to go into lunar orbit.

posted 12-14-2012 03:57 PM               

NASA to Provide Dec. 17 Commentary as Twin Probes End Lunar Mission

NASA will provide live commentary of the scheduled lunar surface impacts of its twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft beginning at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) Monday, Dec. 17. The event will be broadcast on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

The two probes will hit a mountain near the lunar north pole at approximately 2:28 p.m. Monday, bringing their successful prime and extended science missions to an end.

Commentary will originate from the control room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. Coverage will last about 35 minutes and include live interviews with GRAIL team members. GRAIL's final resting place on the moon will be in shadow at the time of impact, so no video documentation of the impacts is expected.

Data from the GRAIL twins are allowing scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. The two probes are being sent purposely into the moon because they do not have enough altitude or fuel to continue science operations.

posted 01-12-2013 10:24 AM               

At the very end of 2011, NASA put two space probes into lunar orbit. Together they were called GRAIL, for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. Individually named Ebb and Flow, they made very sensitive measurements of the Moon’s gravity, which was used to probe the interior composition and density of our nearest cosmic neighbor. To do this, they had to fly in formation very close to the lunar surface.

After the successful completion of both prime and extended missions, there wasn't enough fuel left to raise their altitude to a safe, stable orbit. So, instead, the probes’ orbits were lowered to crash land them on the lunar surface. On Dec. 17, 2012, both spacecraft slammed into the northern regions of the Moon…and the folks at NASA JPL created this amazing movie comprised of images taken by Ebb on Dec. 14, just a few days before it and its partner met their dusty demise.

Note the animation is displayed at 6x normal speed. The spacecraft were over the far side of the Moon, near Jackson crater, and about 10 kilometers (six miles) above the surface when these shots were taken.

The impact site was eventually named after Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and true pioneer. That was a nice touch by NASA.