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Spacecraft

LCROSS

Space Probe

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA to investigate the nature of hydrogen previously detected at the polar regions of the Moon. Launched alongside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, its main objective was to determine whether that hydrogen signature came from water ice held in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. The mission succeeded in confirming the presence of water ice in the southern lunar crater Cabeus by deliberately crashing a spent rocket stage into it and analyzing the resulting debris plume.

Facts
Spacecraft Type
Lunar impactor 1
Launch Date
2009-06-18 1
Manufacturer
Northrop Grumman 1
Status
Mission complete 1
Status
Status (category)
Mission Complete / Ended 1
Connections

Operated By

Source LCROSS - Wikipedia
Source LCROSS - Wikipedia
Sources
1. LCROSS - Wikipedia
  • Infobox, Spacecraft type
    Lunar impactor
  • Infobox, Launch date
    June 18, 2009, 21:32:00 UTC
  • Infobox, Manufacturer
    Northrop Grumman
  • Body text, Impact section
    Centaur impacted successfully on October 9, 2009, at 11:31 UTC
  • In Group: Lunar Orbiters and Flyby Probes, The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected
  • Operated By: NASA, Lead paragraph, operator
    The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA.
  • Operated By: Ames Research Center, Lead paragraph, operator
    The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA.
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