NASA puts an end to the mission of two
scientific probes after spending a year exploring
what lies beneath the surface of the satellite
The U.S. Space Agency (NASA) plans to crash
two small twin scientific probes on the Moon
next week after spending a year exploring what
lies beneath the lunar surface.
The twin orbiters that have allowed scientists to know
the internal structure and composition of the satellite
are being prepared for its descent and impact on a
mountain near the lunar north pole Monday morning.
Ebb and Flow, which form what NASA called GRAIL
(Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory), being
descended on purpose because of its low orbit
and the fact that its low fuel excludes more
scientific missions.
The scientific mission of the two ships generated
the highest-resolution map of the magnetic field
of a celestial body.
This map will allow a better understanding of how
Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system
formed and evolved.
"It will be hard to say goodbye," said GRAIL principal
investigator, Maria Zuber, of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). "Our little twin robots
have been exemplary members of the family of GRAIL
and planetary science has come a long way thanks
to his contribution."
The mountain where the two spacecraft will
crash is located near the crater Goldschmidt.
Both ships have been flying around the moon
on the first day of 2012.
---------------------------------------------------
This Monday, just in case, take a motorcycle
helmet because in case something falls on the
moon and can kill me.
Sources: NASA