NASA to dust off robotic lunar orbiter mission LADEE

William Atkins
Thursday, 10 April 2008 04:21

Science - Space

NASA has announced that its Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission will be launched in 2011 to explore the composition and structure of the Moon’s tenuous atmosphere, especially to investigate the presence and distribution of dust just off the lunar surface.


According to the April 9, 2008 news release from the National Aernautics and Space Administration (NASA) entitled “NASA Sets Sights on Lunar Dust Exploration Mission,” the LADEE spacecraft will collect data on the environment near the Moon’s surface in order to help assess how to develop future manned exploratory missions on the Moon.

LADEE will contain two or three lightweight instruments, such as a sensitive dust counter/detector and a neutral mass spectrometer, which will contain a total weight on Earth of about 45 pounds (20 kilograms).

LADEE is a mission that is being directed by three major NASA centers.

The Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, California) will manage the mission, build the spacecraft, and operate the mission.

The Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, Alabama) will direct the mission through its Lunar Science Program Office’s Discovery and New Frontiers Program.

The Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland) will perform environmental testing and launch vehicle integration.
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The low-cost mission of LADEE, which is expected to cost about $80 million, will ride along with the larger Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), which will be taking precise measurements of the gravitational field of the Moon.

Both spacecraft will be lifted from Earth with a Delta II rocket and, then, LADEE will separate from GRAIL while on a trajectory toward the Moon.

The mission objectives of LADEE are to:

“Determine the global density, composition, and time variability of the fragile lunar atmosphere before it is perturbed by further human activity.”

“Determine if the Apollo astronaut sightings of diffuse emission at [tens of kilometers] above the surface were [sodium] (Na) glow or dust.”

“Document the dust impactor environment (size-frequency) to help guide design engineering for the outpost and also future robotic missions.”

The spacecraft will be placed into a low altitude orbit about the Moon, probably around 80 miles (50 kilometers) 30 miles (50 kilometers) above the surface. For about three months it will collect data of Earth’s moon.

NASA Ames director S. Pete Worden said of the LADEE mission, "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 lunar exploratory mission planned by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (Washington, D.C.).

NOTE: Correction made per reader "80 miles (50 kilometers)" should be "30 miles (50 kilometers)"--Atkins 4-11-08 (thanks for catching that mistake!, and actually this altitude makes for easier observation of the surface--even better for NASA!!)