ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2009) — The European Space Agency’s SMART-1 team has released an image of the future impact site of NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into a crater named Cabeus A at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 11:30 and 11:34 am UT on 9 October 2009.

Bjoern Grieger, the liaison scientist for SMART-1’s AIMIE camera, and Project Scientist Bernard Foing have searched through SMART-1’s database for images of Cabeus A, taken four years ago at conditions where solar elevation and direction were similar to those of LCROSS impact. The SMART-1 image is at high resolution as the spacecraft was at its closest distance of 500 km from the South Pole. The SMART-1 image of LCROSS target was discussed last week at lunar sessions of European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) in Potsdam, Germany.

Cabeus A is permanently shadowed, so ice lying inside the crater could be protected from the Sun’s harsh rays. LCROSS will send the upper stage Centaur rocket crashing into Cabeus A and a shepherd spacecraft will fly into the plume of dust generated and measure its properties before making a second impact with the lunar surface. Astronomers will observe both impacts using ground and space-based telescopes. The SMART-1 spacecraft also concluded its mission with a controlled bouncing impact on 3 September 2006. The event was observed with ground-based telescopes and the flash from the impact was detected at infrared wavelengths.

“We are pleased to contribute these ESA SMART-1 observations of the LCROSS target site in order to help in the planning and interpretation of impact observations. This is like gathering evidence for a Crash Scene Investigation, but before the action takes place,” said Bernard Foing.

“The coordination and exchange of information between lunar missions is an important step for future exploration of the Moon. Cooperation is vital if we are ever to see ‘villages’ of robotic landers and eventual lunar bases, as recommended by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group,” he added.

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by Europlanet Media Centre, via AlphaGalileo.

enlarge

This image of LCROSS impact site Cabeus A was taken by the Advanced Moon Imaging Experiment (AMIE) on board ESA's SMART-1 mission. The picture was taken from about 500 km, with small-field (about 50 km across) high resolution view (50 m/pixel). (Credit: B. Grieger, B.H. Foing & ESA/SMART-1/AMIE team)

Related Stories

NASA Moon Impactor Successfully Completes Lunar Maneuver (June 24, 2009) — The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, successfully completed its most significant early mission milestone Tuesday with a lunar swingby and calibration of its science ...  > read more

NASA Spacecraft LCROSS Impacts Lunar Crater In Search Of Water Ice (Oct. 9, 2009) — NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, created twin impacts on the moon's surface early Friday in a search for water ice. Scientists will analyze data from the spacecraft's ...  > read more

NASA Goddard Visualization Team Previews Lunar Impact (Oct. 8, 2009) — At 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, a two-ton rocket body will slam into a crater near the moon's south pole. By studying the resulting plume of gas and dust, scientists hope this grand experiment will ...  > read more

NASA Successfully Launches Lunar Impactor (June 19, 2009) — NASA successfully launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, on a mission to search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole. The satellite ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Moon Rover