This morning, NASA successfully launched its twin Gravity Recovery and Internal Laboratory (GRAIL)probes to the Moon. Right now, the GRAIL robots are in the first hours of a months-long trip into lunar orbit. Once arrived, the orbiters will spend 90 days analyzing the Moon before being de-orbited, from which they will crash to the lunar surface.
NASA forced to delay GRAIL mission launch
This morning, NASA was forced to scrub the launch of its twin Gravity Recovery and Internal Laboratory (GRAIL)probes to the Moon. The launches were to take place at 8:37 and 9:16am this morning, but high winds at the launch site forced a cancellation for today. The good news is that NASA has a 42-day launch window to get the mission space bound. As for trying again, NASA will attempt tomorrow.
For NASA, this mission is yet another signal that there is a resurgence of interest in our nearest celestial neighbor. In 2009, NASA launched both its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) probe, which crashed into the lunar surface in a search for water, which it found. Earlier that year, NASA launched its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, which was designed to scout out possible landing sites,. As a side note, the LRO offered undeniable proofthat America went to the Moon with Apollo, too..
Now, there's GRAIL.
In the mission, there are several major objectives NASA wants to accomplish and questions it wants to answer. Chief among them are the following: what is the Moon's internal structure and what is it made from? Determine the size of the lunar core. Gain understanding of how the Moon's surface came to be as it appears today. Understand the asymmetrical thermal properties of the Moon. answer the question of why the Moon's gravity is not the same across its surface and lastly, determine the sub-surface structure of craters.
Now, if all goes as planned, NASA will have answers to these questions by this time next year.
For anyone wanting to learn about the Apollo Program, the only manned mission to another world, in the Cleveland area, visit the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, located at the Great Lakes Science Center right in downtown Cleveland.
When it comes to looking at the Moon, be sure to keep an eye on the Cleveland weather forecast and, for hour-by-hour cloud predictions, the Cleveland Clear Sky Clock. Unfortunately, the current forecast does not give much optimism for any astronomy ion the coming week as it is calling for persistent clouds. Live somewhere else? Find a clock and see if it will be clear near you.
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