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VK1DSN > SPACE 13.04.08 08:31l 77 Lines 3784 Bytes #999 (0) @ VKNET
BID : 38766_VK1DSN
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Subj: Lunar Dust Mission
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Sent: 080413/0517Z @:VK1DSN.ACT.AUS.OC #:38766 [Canberra,QF44lo] FBB7.00i
From: VK1DSN@VK1DSN.ACT.AUS.OC
To : SPACE@VKNET
Deborah Robin Croft April 9, 2008
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-6787
dcroft@mail.arc.nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08- 29AR
NASA SETS SIGHTS ON LUNAR DUST EXPLORATION MISSION
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the
moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above
the surface.
Called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), the mission
will launch before the agency's moon exploration activities accelerate during
the next decade. LADEE will gather detailed information about conditions near
the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. A thorough
understanding of these influences will help researchers understand how future
exploration may shape the lunar environment and how the environment may affect
future explorers.
"LADEE represents a low-cost approach to science missions, enabling faster
science return and more frequent missions," said Ames Director S. Pete Worden. "
These measurements will provide scientific insight into the lunar environment,
and give our explorers a clearer understanding of what they'll be up against as
they set up the first outpost and begin the process of settling the solar
system."
LADEE is a cooperative effort with NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field,
Calif., Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The total cost of the spacecraft is expected
to be approximately $80 million.
Ames will manage the mission, build the spacecraft and perform mission
operations. Goddard will perform environmental testing and launch vehicle
integration. The mission will be established within Marshall's newly created
Lunar Science Program Office. Marshall will draw upon experience gained from
managing a larger suite of low-cost, small satellite missions through NASA's
Discovery and New Frontiers Program.
LADEE will fly to the moon as a secondary payload on the Discovery mission
called Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), which is designed to
take ultra-precise gravity field measurements of the moon. Current plans call
for the GRAIL and LADEE spacecraft to launch together on a Delta II rocket and
separate after they are on a lunar trajectory. LADEE will take approximately
four months to travel to the moon, then undergo a month-long checkout phase and
begin 100 days of science operations.
LADEE is one of many activities to support lunar exploration planned by NASA's
Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Last year, NASA also established a
lunar science institute at Ames. Research teams will address current topics in
basic lunar science and possible astronomical, solar and Earth science
investigations that could be performed from the moon. In addition, NASA is
preparing for scientific investigations following the planned launch later this
year of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). After a 30-year hiatus, LRO
represents NASA's first step toward returning humans to the moon.
For more information on NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
-end-
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