Grail B In Lunar Orbit Let The Mapping Begin

Grail B In Lunar Orbit Let The Mapping Begin
The GRAIL-B gravity mapping spacecraft has shutdown its engine to enter orbit around the moon. Deep space antennas are tracking the probe's progress. The GRAIL-A spacecraft went into orbit around the Moon sucessfully yesterday, [MISSION UPDATES]. See GRAIL TWITTER and NASA JPL STATEMENT on the successful entry into orbit.

Over the next couple of months, a series of shorter engine firings will nudge the spacecraft into circular orbits passing over the Moon's poles, 34 miles above its surface to commence the collection of gravitational data with precision factor of 1000 times better of the lunar far side than any of the previous 100 lunar missions since 1959. LET THE ORBIT TRIMMING BEGIN," the GRAIL Twitter site reads.

In March, the spacecraft will begin collecting the gravity data. Variations in density - for example, a mountain range or a clump of heavier metals below the surface - change the MOON's gravitational pull and create wobbles in its orbits, and the gravity map will be calculated from the changes in distance and speed between the two spacecraft. The spacecraft will also ACTIVATE MOONKAM for America's middle school students.

More from the BBC, THE WASHINGTON POST, AP AND BBC4 AUDIO.



Source: project-ufo.blogspot.com

Posted by Unknown | at 10:52 AM