THUNDER BAY – Technology News – Space remains ‘the final frontier’. Man’s journey and exploration of space generates knowledge, and brings back valuable information to all of us here on earth. On December 17th NASA is scheduling a pair of lunar impacts designed to study the moon.
NASA will provide live commentary of the scheduled lunar surface impacts of its twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft beginning at 5 p.m. EST Monday, Dec. 17. The event will be broadcast on NASA Television and streamed online.
The two probes will hit a mountain near the lunar north pole at approximately 2:28 p.m. Monday, bringing their successful prime and extended science missions to an end.
Commentary will originate from the control room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. Coverage will last about 35 minutes and include live interviews with GRAIL team members. GRAIL’s final resting place on the moon will be in shadow at the time of impact, so no video documentation of the impacts is expected.
Data from the GRAIL twins are allowing scientists to learn about the moon’s internal structure and composition in unprecedented detail. The two probes are being sent purposely into the moon because they do not have enough altitude or fuel to continue science operations.
Join the conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag #GRAIL.
