sexta-feira, janeiro 07, 2022

A sonda Lunar Prospector foi lançada há vinte e quatro anos

   
Lunar Prospector was the third mission selected by NASA for full development and construction as part of the Discovery Program. At a cost of $62.8 million, the 19-month mission was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition including polar ice deposits, measurements of magnetic and gravity fields, and study of lunar outgassing events. The mission ended July 31, 1999, when the orbiter was deliberately crashed into a crater near the lunar south pole after the presence of water ice was successfully detected.
Data from the mission allowed the construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon, and helped to improve understanding of the origin, evolution, current state, and resources of the Moon. Several articles on the scientific results were published in the journal Science.
Lunar Prospector was managed by NASA Ames Research Center with the prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The Principal Investigator for the mission was Alan Binder. His personal account of the mission, Lunar Prospector: Against all Odds, is highly critical of the bureaucracy of NASA overall, and of its contractors.
   
Lunar Prospector
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Lunar Prospector

Mission typeLunar orbiter
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1998-001A
SATCAT no.25131
Mission duration570 days

Spacecraft properties
BusLM-100
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass295 kilograms (650 lb)
Dry mass126 kilograms (278 lb)
Power202.0 W

Start of mission
Launch dateJanuary 7, 1998, 02:28:44 UTC
RocketAthena II
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-46
ContractorLockheed Martin Space Systems

End of mission
Decay dateJuly 31, 1999, 09:52:02 UTC

Orbital parameters
Reference systemSelenocentric
Eccentricity0.00046
Periselene altitude99.45 kilometers (61.80 mi)
Aposelene altitude101.2 kilometers (62.9 mi)
Inclination90.55 degrees
Period117.9 minutes
EpochJanuary 16, 1998[1]

Lunar orbiter
Orbital insertionJanuary 11, 1998, 10:28 UTC
Impact site87.7°S 42.1°E
Orbits~7060
Instruments
Gamma ray spectrometer (GRS)
Lunar Prospector neutron spectrometer (NS)
Alpha particle spectrometer (APS)
Doppler gravity experiment (DGE)
Magnetometer (MAG)
Electron reflectometer (ER)
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Official insignia of the Lunar Prospector mission
  

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