Tag: GRAIL
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Year in review (Part II) – Through the solar system and beyond
For NASA’s unmanned explorers, 2012 was an astonishing year filled with discoveries and observations inside our solar system, at the outer reaches of our solar system, and in the star systems beyond our own. Leading these discoveries were the NASA probes MESSENGER, GRAIL, Cassini, Voyager I, and the Kepler Space Telescope. MESSENGER at Mercury –…
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GRAIL mission ends with Lunar impact and the honoring of a hero
NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft have successfully ended their missions by crashing into the side of a Lunar mountain near its north pole. Ebb & Flow performed admirably during their year-long mission, prior to their destructive end at a site that was renamed in honor of an American hero. GRAIL EOM (End Of…
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GRAIL twins successfully arrive in Lunar Orbit
NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft have successfully completed their planned main engine burn and have arrived in lunar orbit. GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon to yield a better understanding of the internal structure and thermal evolution. This will allow scientists to formulate a model of the Moon’s formation which…
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Year in Review – Part 1: NASA’s planetary probes dominate in 2011
It was an interesting year for NASA as the 2011 calendar brought about the retirement of the iconic Space Shuttle fleet, the completion of the USOS segment of the International Space Station, the launch of three new planetary missions, and the ongoing scientific endeavors of NASA’s fleet of planetary probes. In all, 2011 proved a…
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Twin GRAIL satellites ready for NASA lunar launch
With less than one week to go before the launch of the twin GRAIL lunar satellites from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, NASA has completed the pre-launch flight readiness reviews for both GRAIL and the veteran Delta II rocket which will propel the spacecrafts into their cruise to Earth’s only natural satellite. Processing…